Flickers
by emele807
Summary: Cassie Moore, along with her step-sister Heather, has taken bubble baths with Stiles Stilinski. And when they were eight, after Stiles' mother died, they went to different elementary schools, disappearing out of each others' lives. But then fate steps in, throwing Stiles and Cassie back together at the worst possible time, for the worst possible reasons.
1. Chapter 1

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked as I kicked my legs in the air and lazily flipped the page.

"Cassie, calm down, it's gonna be fine." My step-sister Heather said, looking at my reflection through the mirror as she swiped her cheeks with makeup.

"But we haven't seen him since what? Kindergarten?"

"First grade." Heather corrected me. "And then we went to his mom's funeral."

"Oh, well, then in that case…." I trailed off and read about Amanda Bynes' downward spiral into insanity.

"Shut up." Heather grinned at me, "Trust me, this is going to work."

"Okay, then tell me your plan." I said, rolling onto my side and pushing myself up so I was sitting on the edge of the bed. My blonde hair swung with me as I planted my palms onto Heather's comforter.

"What are you going to open with?" I asked, swiping away a loose hair. Heather stared at me with a coy smile on her face.

"Complete silence, great." I made a face and stood up. "Well, while you're up here practicing your _smile_, I'll be downstairs, setting up for _your_ party."

"Thank you, Cassie!" Heather cried out, throwing her arms around me. She was the same height as me, but the force of her hug almost knocked me on my ass.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Happy birthday." I said, untangling myself from Heather.

"I'll be down in a minute." Heather called after me as I walked out of her room.

I waved my hand in the air and made my way down the stairs, wedges clicking on the wood stairs.

Heather and I were step-sisters. My dad married her mom when we turned two. I couldn't remember my life without Heather or her mom. I called Heather my mom because I knew there was a difference between _Mom _and _Mother_. My mother and my dad had a summer romance, which caused my mother to become pregnant with me and not tell my dad. One day he opened his door to find me in a basket with a little note with my name and birthday. There was also a letter that was tucked into the basket. I knew my dad kept it in a drawer and sometimes, when he wasn't home, I would take it out and read it. It said the obvious, that I was his and that my mother couldn't take care of me. My mother asked my dad to take care of me and raise me.

The letter was really the only thing I had of hers aside from a few worn pictures of her that my dad kept in that same desk drawer. I had never met my mother and didn't plan on it. I hated her for leaving me and my dad and not growing up and taking care of me. He met Heather's mom at a doctor's office when he was taking me for a check-up. The two hit it off and the rest they say was history.

Heather and I were the same age, only a few months apart. I was older. And tonight was Heather's seventeenth birthday. Of course she had to go all out, which meant while she was getting ready, I was setting up.

I placed my iPod into the dock which was connected to little speakers that were set up all over the house. I closed the porch doors that led to the pool area. Then I made my way to the kitchen, getting the bags of chips and cans of dip. I arranged the bowls around the living room in some sort of order. I set up the drinks in the kitchen. The keg had been picked up earlier in the night and was sitting in the corner of the kitchen. There were sodas and water bottles on the counter. I stole a chip as I walked by the living room. There were balloons in the corners of the living room along with strings of lights on the walls. I grabbed the framed pictures off of the shelves and placed them in a box before storing them on the shelf of the hall closet. After hiding all the valuables under the counter in the kitchen, I rested against the fridge, surveying my work. I checked my phone as Heather came down the stairs.

"Oh, Cassie! You should've yelled for me. I would've helped." Heather fake pouted.

"Heather, shut up." I scoffed, pulling up a text message.

I quickly texted my boyfriend, Jeremy, asking him to save me from Heather. He responded with a _you're on your own_. I rolled my eyes and sent back a gun emoji and shoved my phone into my jeans pocket.

"I really like your shirt." Heather complimented me as she sipped her drink.

I looked down, not remembering what shirt I was wearing. It was a light pink sleeveless top that had gold diamond shape buttons around the collar. I had paired it with a pair of skinny jeans and wedges.

"Oh, thanks." I said, running my hand through my hair.

I let Heather pick my outfit out because she said that it looked better. I just nodded; it was pointless to argue with her. And she was usually right.

"Heather?" Heather's best friend, Emmy, called out as she came into the house.

Heather quickly put her drink down and squealed as Emmy came into the kitchen. The two of them hugged and then Emmy came over to me, hugging me as well.

"Hey, Cassie!" The brown hair girl said as she released me.

"Hey, Emmy." I smiled as Emmy took hold of my hands.

"Tonight's gonna be great." Emmy assured me, "I can tell. Is Jeremy coming?" She asked.

"He's supposed to be." I nodded, feeling the curls bouncing. Emmy squealed a bit and teetered from side to side on her heels. I laughed and let go of Emmy's hands.

"I'm going to start the music." I said in parting before going over the speaker dock.

I clicked on the birthday playlist I had made and Harlem by New Politics started to play through the house. I went over to Heather, who grabbed my hands and pulled me in front of the TV and raised my hands to the ceiling, dancing with me. Emmy joined in, blue cup in her hand. I tipped my head back and laughed as people started to come into the house.

Soon the house was full of people. And I knew almost every single one of them. Heather made her three best friends and me crowd around the coffee table in the middle of the living room.

"To seventeen being the best year of my life!" She cheered out.

The rest of us cheered, clinking our cups together. Then the group dispersed, going off in search of more beer or in search of their other friends. I felt someone snake their arm around my waist.

"Hey!" I turned around and saw my boyfriend standing next to me, looking around the room.

"Oh, sorry! Didn't see you there." He joked. I scoffed before lightly kissing him. Then a flash went off.

"Emmy!" I broke away from Jeremy to shoot a death glare at her. Emmy giggled and pulled her lips in.

"I'm sorry! You two are just adorable." Emmy gushed. I shook my head and slid my hand down to grab Jeremy's. He grinned at me.

"I'm gonna go get something to drink." He leaned close to me. I nodded as he kissed me on the cheek.

"Stiles!" I heard Heather cry out.

I turned to the front door and almost dropped my drink. There standing in the doorway was Stiles Stilinski. And boy, had he grown up. His hair was longer than the usual short shaven hairdo I had seen at his mom's funeral and he was taller. His face split into a grin as he saw Heather coming up to him.

"There's the birthday girl-"

I watched as Heather planted a kiss on his surprised lips, effectively cutting Stiles off. My eyebrows jumped and my mouth dropped open as I laughed at Stiles' expression. So that was her grand plan. Brilliant. Stiles heard me laughing and looked over Heather's shoulders.

"_Cassie?_" He asked in surprise.

I wiggled my fingers and turned away as Jeremy came back over.

"Who's that?" He asked, looking at Stiles.

I looked over my shoulder at Stiles as Heather grabbed his hand. She dragged him past us and he looked confused, but excited.

"That…is Stilinski." I motioned with my cup as the two of them disappeared down the stairs to the basement.

I noticed he left his friend standing in the foyer with the same shocked expression that Stiles had on his face moments before. I watched as he walked up to Danielle, a smile on his face. Danielle gave him a once over before making a disapproving noise and walking away. _Scott. His name was Scott. _

"Scott? Scott McCall?" I asked, walking up to Stiles' best friend.

"Uh, yeah." Scott said, looking at the two of us.

"Cassie." I extended my hand and shook Scott's hand. "Heather's step-sister."

"Scott. Stiles' wingman."

"Well, it looks like he doesn't really need you." I joked, looking over my shoulder to the wine cellar. Scott quickly raised his eyebrows.

"Jeremy." Jeremy reached around me and shook Scott's hand, getting his attention away from the door to the cellar.

"C'mon let's get you a drink." I said, nodding my head towards the kitchen.

"So do you know Stiles from grade school too?" Scott asked as I poured him a drink.

"Yeah, we used to take bubble baths together." I shot Scott a grin. He laughed.

"A little too much information, Cassie. I just met you." Scott joked, taking the drink. He sipped it and looked out into the living room.

"So Jeremy…" He started, running his finger around the rim of the cup.

"Is my boyfriend." I finished for him, taking a sip of my own drink.

"Oh." Scott cleared his throat and looked at me, "How long have you two been going out?"

"Uh, freshman year." I leaned back on the counter as Scott let out a low whistle. I pulled my lips in and nodded.

"Does he play lacrosse?" Scott asked, watching as Jeremy bounced a ball into a pyramid of cups.

"Nope. He's a lifeguard. Swims on the swim team." I said, looking at Scott. "I'm guessing you play lacrosse." I figured.

"Yeah." He huffed, "Stiles and I do. But it's been pushed from a year round sport to a spring one so now we run cross country."

"I run cross country!" I exclaimed, standing up straight. I pointed to myself as Scott chuckled to himself.

"No way. I didn't take you for the sporty type. What school do you go to?" He asked.

"North BHHS." I said, leaning back against the counter.

"Junior?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Junior." Scott nodded.

"How about you, Scotty? Got yourself a girlfriend?" I nudged him.

"You just dive right in, don't you?" Scott asked, raising his cup, "Just dive straight to the bottom, dig out my secrets."

"Depends. Do you _have_ any secrets?" I asked, leaning forward.

"No." Scott said after looking at me for a moment.

"Bullshit. Everyone has secrets." I took a sip of my drink. Scott didn't respond.

"So no on the whole girlfriend thing then." I obviously stated. Scott sighed and shoved a hand into his pocket.

"It's complicated." Was all he said.

And then his phone buzzed. He dug it out of his pocket and looked at the screen. I leaned forward and saw the name _Allison_ on the screen.

"Speak of the devil…" Scott said. He looked up at me. "I'll be right back."

I raised my cup at him as he went out of the kitchen and through the living room. I sighed and dumped my soda out into the sink and pushed off the counter, going to the living room. The boys were still playing beer pong, expect Jeremy was sitting this one out. I sat down on the couch next to him. He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close. I snuggled into his chest and watched the boys for a few minutes before my bladder was feeling like it was going to explode. I slipped out from under Jeremy and kissed him before going up the stairs.

I scrolled through the photos on my phone as I climbed the stairs. It was almost eleven. I sighed and pushed open the bathroom door. I looked up to see Stiles going through the drawers and cabinets.

"Hey, Stilinski." I leaned against the sink as he whirled around in surprise. "Why are you going through my medicine cabinet?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

"Uh, nothing. I wasn't doing anything."

Stiles shoved his hands in his back pockets and pulled his lips down as he shook his head. I rolled my eyes, half smile on my face. I turned around to the sink and pulled the drawer open and then turned back around. I tossed Stiles the box of what he was looking for. Stiles fumbled, but caught the condom box in his hands.

"Wha-I wasn't…" Stiles trailed off.

"She told me her plan, Stilinski." I crossed my arms and grinned. "I didn't know if you'd be ready so…"

"And you picked this size?" Stiles waved the box in the air.

"I guessed." I shrugged.

Stiles snorted and looked at the box. His hazel eyes darted from me to the box, then down to his crotch, then back to me.

"XXL, right?" I asked, tilting my head to the side and pushing my tongue over my top teeth as I tried not to smile. Stiles swallowed.

"Uh, yeah, yeah this could work." Stiles fumbled with the box, ripping it open and grabbing one. Then he looked at me.

"She's not gonna wait down there forever." I said, "Remember how impatient she got when we played hide and seek?" I reminded him.

"Right, right, I'm gonna go." He shoved the condom into his pocket and then tossed the box to me. I fumbled with it as Stiles went out the door.

"Good luck, Stilinski!" I called out.

I laughed to myself before refolding the box and putting it back into the drawer. It wasn't like I was going to be using them anytime soon because Jeremy was set on waiting until marriage. I didn't even know if we were going to make it that long. We probably wouldn't make it to college. I mean, hell, why would you bring a sandwich to a buffet, right?

After peeing out a gallon of my body fluids, I went back downstairs and passed the wine cellar as Stiles came out.

"Did you do the dirty?" I asked, voice deep, as Stiles walked by me.

"No." Stiles seriously said, all joking gone as he passed me.

"Wait, what happened? She was all set to lose it to you." I grabbed his elbow.

"Is she up here?"

"No, no maybe she and Emmy went outside or something." I said, looking out to the porch where people were milling around. Stiles longingly looked at the pool area, searching for Heather.

"Come on, let's catch up." I tugged him to the living room and plopped him down, setting a bowl of chips on his lap.

"So, Stilinski, how has your life been?" I asked, taking a chip from his bowl.

"Crazy." He said, sifting through the chips to find a perfectly ruffled one.

"How so?" I asked, pulling up a leg under my other leg.

"There's just been so much crap going on." Stiles ran his hand through his hair. "Anyway, what about you? You changed…like a lot." Stiles' eyes traveled from my face to my legs.

"Well, the last time you saw me, I didn't have these!" I cupped my boobs and jiggled them a bit. Stiles' face turned a bright red that Crayola didn't even make. He looked away, embarrassed.

"Oh, my, God." Stiles breathed out. I started laughing.

"How's your dad?" I asked, letting go of my boobs.

"A safe topic." Stiles let out a breath of relief. "He's good. Working hard. I've been trying to get him to eat healthy, but he loves his curly fries."

"I remember that running in the family." I said, scratching behind my ear. "In fact, I believe there was one time-"

"Cassie, don't." Stiles warned.

"That a particular Stilinski boy decided he could eat three, THREE, bags of Toby's curly fries, which ended up in that boy throwing up all over a certain girl!" I leaned forward.

"How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?!" Stiles cried out, turning his torso to face me, "And besides, you brought it on yourself. You _dared me_."

"You didn't have to do it!" I waved my hand in the air and looked at the ceiling.

"I was _five_! A dare is a dare." Stiles argued back. I groaned before laughing. Stiles eventually chimed in.

"Hey." I felt someone sit down next to me. I looked over my shoulder at Jeremy.

"Yo." I said, as he wrapped an arm around me. Stiles looked from me to Jeremy, then extended his hand.

"Stiles." He said.

"Jeremy." Jeremy answered, shaking his hand. "What were you two talking about?"

"We were reminiscing about when Stiles threw up on me." I said, tossing Stiles under the bus.

"You sure know how to win a girl over." Jeremy joked, taking a sip of his drink. "I'll be right back. Do you want anything?"

He had deemed Stiles harmless, I could tell. But before I could open my mouth to respond, Emmy basically fell on top of me. She stretched out, placing her head on Stiles' thigh. Stiles turned the same red he was before as he lifted his hands in the air.

"Cassie, Cassie, Cassie." Emmy mumbled, side of her face pressed into Stiles' jeans.

"Are you drunk?" I asked, rubbing in her back.

"_No. _I'm driving home, remember?" Emmy asked. She tried to lift her head, but failed, falling back against Stiles' leg.

I took her cup out of her hand that was dangling off of the couch, and brought it to my lips. Beer. I looked over my shoulder at Jeremy.

"Emmy, let me take you home." Jeremy said, crouching in front of Emmy.

"Oh, okay." Emmy's expression instantly changed from worried to sultry. I rolled my eyes as Emmy sat up and pushed up her push up bra, pursing her lips.

"I'll be back." Jeremy said in parting.

He briefly kissed my lips and took Emmy by the elbow. Emmy struggled against his grip, so Jeremy took her and threw her over his shoulders. This caused Emmy to laugh uncontrollably. I waved goodbye to Jeremy as he walked down the stairs with Emmy over his shoulder.

I sighed and turned back to Stiles who was rubbing his hands on his thighs. He gave me a small smile before looking around the living room.

"He seems nice." Stiles said.

"Does he?" I asked with a little tone to my voice. I didn't believe him.

"I mean, yeah, I guess. I don't really know him." Stiles said.

"Right."

I let the conversation go into a lull. Stiles' phone buzzed and he looked at the message, then up at me.

"I gotta go." He said, locking his phone and standing up.

I got to my feet and looked at him. He let a little boy grin show on his face.

"Do you…" I started.

"Of course I do." Stiles finished for me.

Then I put my hand out in front of me, it was opened, palm up. Stiles did the same.

"Ready?" I asked, grinning a bit. Stiles nodded and licked his lips.

Then we repeated the complicated secret handshake that we made up when we were six. It ended with both hands in the air, high-fiving the other, then pulling our arms down. Then Stiles slammed his chest against mine. I met him halfway, before bouncing back. My hand was on my chest, rubbing my cleavage.

"Hurt a lot less when I didn't have boobs." I complained. Stiles laughed.

"I can't believe I remembered that." He chuckled, "All right, I gotta go. If you see Heather tell her I'm _very_ disappointed in her."

"Will do, Stilinski." I saluted the boy as he waved before he turned around and went out the front door.

Jeremy was coming inside at the same time Stiles as leaving. They did the little head nod before Jeremy walked past him. I watched Stiles leave as Jeremy came up to me.

"Some better party he had to get to?" Jeremy joked, wrapping an arm around my waist.

"Probably." I said, turning around and taking my drink from the table.

"I was getting a bit jealous of all the boys that were flocking you." Jeremy kidded.

"You have some competition, mister." I teased, leaning into him. Jeremy leaned down and kissed me, hands on my hips.

"Wanna go upstairs?" I asked, looking up at him.

He nodded and let me take his hand. I carefully led him through the living room full of drunk teenagers and up the stairs. We went down the hall and I pushed open the door to my room. I had recently redecorated it. I put a little hanging cage chair in the corner of the room, where I sat when I wanted to be alone. I had convinced Mom to let me paint my room a bright turquoise and put messages on the one wall. Whenever someone came into my room, they would grab a Sharpie and right a message on the wall. It ranged from the typical _Emmy was here _to poems that I would write in small, block handwriting. I had little messages from Jeremy written on the wall along with some things from Heather.

I carefully shut the door behind me as Jeremy collapsed into the desk chair. I straddled his legs, sitting down on top of his lap. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he placed his hands on my hips.

"You know that no one could compete with you, right?" I murmured, looking into Jeremy's green eyes.

"I'm aware. Doesn't mean I can't get jealous." Jeremy pointed out.

"Just don't be _that _guy." I reminded him, "And you seriously don't even have to worry about Stilinski, he loves Heather." I said, pouting.

"Well, I love you." Jeremy said, looking up at me. I brightened, smiling.

"I love you too." I said.

I pushed my cheeks out, making a face. Jeremy sucked his cheeks in, making a fishy face. I crossed my eyes. He burst out laughing. I blew out a breath and started to laugh with him. Then he pressed his lips against mine. I kissed back, opening my mouth a little bit so his tongue could dance with mine. I felt him push forward and I took my arms from around his neck. I ran my hands up through his hair as he ran his hands up and down my back.

"Cassie." He groaned, pulling away. I sighed and sat back in his lap.

"I know you want it to be special, but it really isn't that big of a deal." I said, looking at my hands.

"To me it is." Jeremy said, briefly kissing my lips, "I want you to feel comfortable."

"I _will_ be comfortable. I don't feel pressured or anything, Jer." I pressed my hands to the side of his face. "It's not secret I have to guard until I get married. It's just _sex_." I said, shrugging.

"I think it is about being with the right person and making it special, Cassie. And I _know_ that that person is you."

"So why don't we just get it over with!?" I exclaimed, tilting my head back.

"Because I want to wait!" Jeremy argued back.

"Until when?" I asked, looking at him.

"One month. Just one month and then we can do it." Jeremy finally relented. I grinned.

"Sounds good to me." I said, pressing my lips against his.

He lifted me up so my legs were wrapped around his waist and carried me to the bed. I fell back against it and giggled. And then he flopped onto his back and stared at my ceiling where I had written _Fuck what they think_ in big swirly letters. We stayed like that for a bit until he had to leave in time to get home for his curfew.

After Jeremy left, I went downstairs and surveyed the mess that people had left. There were only a few people left. I looked at the microwave clock and realized it was almost midnight. I sighed and washed my hands, getting ready to clean up the kitchen. I had no idea where Heather was, but she was probably passed out face-down on one of the pool chairs.

I went to work. I picked up the discarded blue cups and threw them into the large trash bag I had set up in the middle of living room. I kicked the kids that were on my floor, waking them up and pushing them out of the house. I kicked off my heels and walked around the living room, picking up trash and cups. I cleaned up the spills and put the ping pong balls back in the shoebox and stored it in the coat closet. The porch doors were open when I went outside. I picked up the discarded cups and plates, throwing them into the trash bag I had brought outside.

"Heather! I could really use some help here!" I shouted as I walked around the deck.

"Heather?" I called out.

There was no response. I walked over to the pool chairs. They were all empty. I furrowed my brow and continued to clean up. Heather probably snuck past me and went upstairs and fell asleep. I sighed and continued the cleanup.

After finishing the cleanup, I promptly fell onto the couch, not bothering to shower or get changed. I just tumbled onto the couch and fell asleep.

* * *

A shrill ringing of my phone woke me up the next morning. I groaned and grabbed at my phone, slamming my hand down until it stopped ringing. I sighed and went back to sleep. Then it started to ring again. I groaned and brought the phone to my face.

"What?" I barked out.

"Just your morning wake up call." Jeremy's voice echoed through the phone.

"Shit, what time is it?" I asked, sitting up.

"Almost eight." Jeremy mused. I could hear his smile.

"Stop making fun of me. Whose idea was it anyway to throw a party on a Wednesday night?" I grumbled as I stood up.

"Heather's." Jeremy said.

"Heather." I growled out, remembering that she didn't do anything to help last night. "I might murder her." I said as I stomped up the stairs.

"Oh, don't do that. Let her enjoy being seventeen for a little bit." Jeremy laughed.

"Fine, then I'll do it tomorrow." I pounded my fist on her door. Then I paused.

"Heather, get your ass out of bed! We're gonna be late!" No answer. I sighed loudly into my phone as Jeremy laughed.

"Don't you have swim practice?" I snapped into the phone.

"This is more fun." Jeremy joked.

"I'm hanging up now." I sing songed before hanging up my phone. I pushed open the door to Heather's room to see it empty.

"Heather?" I asked, peering around the door, "Heather, this isn't funny." I said, bouncing on my toes. "Heather!" Nothing.

I furrowed my brow and closed the door. I quickly got changed and ran down the stairs. I locked the door and hopped into my car. I would deal with Heather later.

* * *

The bell was ringing as I pulled into the parking lot. I quickly ran through the halls, not bothering to stop at my locker, sliding into my English class just as the second bell rang. I sighed and dropped my bag to the ground. I placed my Vans on the chair in front of me and slumped down in my seat. I ran my hands through my hair and looked around. Emmy was sitting next to me, head on the table.

"Good morning, sunshine!" I chirped out, leaning closer to her.

"There's a special place reserved in Hell for people like you." Emmy moaned out. I laughed, then shifted in my seat.

"You haven't seen Heather today, have you?" I asked, biting my lip. Emmy lifted her head from her desk.

"No, not since she went down to the wine cellar. But after that is kind of a blur, so I wouldn't trust my judgment if I were you." Emmy pointed out.

I sighed and slipped back down in my desk as class started. I spent the whole class doodling and scratching out poems on the columns of my notebook. I tapped my foot as I stared at the clock, watching the second hand tick by until the bell finally rang. I pushed out of my seat and went to my next class, eyes out for Heather the entire time. I was getting more and more nervous as the class periods flicked by and she still didn't show up. Sighing, I caught up with Jeremy as he walked to lunch. I grabbed his hand and swung his arm back before he looked at me and smiled.

"Hey." He kissed me, lips tasting like chlorine.

I grinned and kept walking down the hall, linking up with Emmy and Greg. Greg was my neighbor and Jeremy's best friend. Greg and I had been best friends since forever. I knew he had been harboring a crush on Emmy since the third grade. The two spent so much time together that I was beginning to wonder if they were actually together and didn't tell anyone.

"So no one's really seen her since last night?" Greg asked as he shoved a handful of fries into his mouth.

"Nope. The last person to see her was Stiles." I said as I took a sip of my water.

"Well, do you have his number?" Jeremy asked, turning to me. "Maybe he could tell us where she went."

"No." I shook my head, "But I know where he goes to school." I said, looking at Emmy.

"So are you just gonna wait outside of his school until he comes out? Cause _that's_ not creepy." Emmy deadpanned as she took a bite of her salad.

"No, I mean, I know he has cross country after school. So maybe I could catch him there."

"Isn't his dad the Sheriff?" Jeremy asked, looking over at me. I nodded.

"We could call the cops. I mean, it's been almost twenty-four hours." Greg pointed out. Emmy agreed, pointing her fork at Greg.

"There, we'll call the cops." Emmy closed the conversation. Everyone agreed. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat.

"Emmy, can I talk to you for a second?" I asked, standing up.

Emmy nodded and dropped her fork as she stood up. I walked towards the girls' bathroom. When we got in the bathroom, I leaned against the stalls.

"What if someone took her?" I quietly asked.

"You mean, like Stiles?"

"No! I mean…I don't know. Stiles wouldn't do that, right?"

"I don't know. I've never met the kid." Emmy shrugged and looked at me, "I'm sure she's fine. She's probably just wandering around the woods hung over or something."

"Yeah, probably." I relented. Emmy patted my shoulder as she walked by. I nervously chewed at my bottom lip. Then I pulled out my phone and dialed 911.

"I'd like to report a missing person." I started after the woman answered.

"I'm going to transfer you over to the Sheriff." The woman said. I heard a beep.

"Sheriff Stilinski." Mr. Stilinski answered the phone, his voice rough. I hadn't seen Mr. Stilinski since the funeral, but hearing his voice sent a wave of emotions through me. I swallowed and opened my mouth.

"Hi, Mr. Stilinski, it's…it's Cassie Moore." I chewed on my lip again.

"Cassie! Hi, sweetie, how are you?"

"I'm okay. How are you?" I politely asked.

"I'm doing just fine. What can I help you with today?"

"Uhm actually, I'm calling to report a missing person." I nervously said.

"Oh." Mr. Stilinski coughed, "Okay, then, can you give me a name?"

"It's Heather. Heather's missing." My voice cracked. There was silence on the other end.

"Who was the last person to see her? When did she go missing?" Mr. Stilinski was in sheriff mode. I let out a breath.

"Last night. Around eleven. And the last person to see her was…Stiles." I finished, swallowing.

"Stiles?"

"Yes, sir." I said, wrapping an arm around myself, "I'm sure he didn't do anything, but he was the last person she was with that night."

"I'll talk to him. Okay, Cassie, I'm putting an APB out on Heather right now. We're gonna find her, all right?" I nodded before realizing that he couldn't see me nodding.

"Thank you."

"We're gonna find her." Mr. Stilinski's voice was firm.

I said my goodbyes with him before hanging up the phone. I quickly turned around and looked at myself in the mirror. Then I swiped under my eyes. I blew out a breath and smiled at myself before walking out of the bathroom.

"The cops have an APB out on Heather." I said as I sat back down in my chair.

"They're gonna find her, Cassie, okay?" Emmy said, patting my hand. I nodded and went back to eating my salad.

* * *

Around four, I found myself in the Beacon Hills High parking lot. I watched as a group of boys walked out of the school. They had gym bags slung around their shoulders. Then I spotted Stiles jogging down the stairs, looking around the parking lot. I quickly got out of my car and hurried up to him, meeting him at his Jeep.

"Stilinski." I slammed my hand on the door, effectively closing it. Stiles let out a startled yelp.

"Jesus, Moore." Stiles hissed out.

"I've never been mistaken for him before." I tilted my head to the side and looked at Stiles. Stiles' eyes darted to the side then back to me.

"You know, your little condom you gave me last night caused a shit load of problems in school today."

"A. my condom was far from little. B. what'd you do, wave it around class today?"

"It fell out of my pocket." Stiles sheepishly said. I snorted. Stiles chuckled at my snort.

"Speaking of last night, Heather still hasn't reappeared." I said, getting serious.

"I know. My dad came to school and basically said I was a suspect."

"Well, you kinda are." I said, shutting an eye.

"I swear to God, Cassie, I didn't do anything." Stiles put his hands up, "You were with me for that entire night."

"No, but you left, remember?" I pointed out.

"Cassie, I didn't do anything. I have no idea where she is."

I stared at the pale boy for a moment before sighing.

"I know. But I have no idea where she could have gone." I admitted, "She's never done something like this."

"I know." Stiles scuffed his toe against the ground. "I'll call you if anything comes up." Stiles offered.

"Yeah, that'd be great." I gave him a small smile.

Stiles slid his backpack off his shoulder and dug out a pen. I took it and wrote my number on his palm. I recapped the pen and handed it back to him.

"I'll see you around, Stilinski."

"See ya, Moore." Stiles said, hiking up his bag as I walked away from him.

I got into my car and went straight home, falling onto my bed as soon as I walked into my room. I rolled around in the sheets for a few moments before sitting up and throwing my covers off of me. I went into Heather's room, everything left untouched. It was so weird. I bit my lip and climbed into her bed, pulling her covers up to my chin and snuggling deeper. Her pillows and sheets still smelled like her. I tried not to cry as I pulled her stuffed monkey closer to my chest, running my thumb along the fur. I felt my eyes close and I fell asleep to the lull of the white noise coming from my window. I could only hope that when I woke up, everything would be alright.


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up in Heather's room, staring at the wall across from me. I sighed and closed my eyes, rolling back over so I was staring at the ceiling. I continued to rub my thumb around the worn fur of her stuffed monkey for a minute. Then, I realized that I had to face reality. I licked my lips and slowly got out of her bed. I set everything back up the way it was when I came in, making it so I was never there.

Pushing the door open in my room, I went over to my dresser, pulling out a high waisted blue skirt and pairing it with a red sweater that had hearts all over it. I stared at myself in my mirror. My hair was big, thick and full of small little ringlet curls. I had always parted it down the middle because it was easier to deal with. I don't think I've ever straightened it, although Heather tried once and gave up halfway through. I let myself smile at the memory before pulling my hair back into a messy ponytail.

The kitchen was quiet as I walked into it, dropping my backpack on the chair. I saw Dad sitting at the kitchen table, all ready for work and Mom in the kitchen. I glanced at her to see that she was cleaning the same plate, rubbing the sponge over it absentmindly. I licked my lips and went over to her, gently tugging the plate out of her hands. Mom looked at me and I could tell that she had been crying.

"Oh, Cassie." She softly said. I gave her a small smile.

"I think this plate is clean enough." I softly joked, putting the plate aside. Mom pulled me close and kissed the top of my head. I forced myself not to cry. I swallowed back and pulled myself from her side.

"Right home from school, kiddo." Dad grunted out. I nodded.

"Of course." I whispered before I grabbed a granola bar from the pantry and walked out of the kitchen. I took my bag and slung it over my shoulder, walking out of my house. I stood on my porch for a moment before nodding to myself and going for my station wagon.

Each of us had our own ways of dealing with Heather's disappearance, that's what I was beginning to realize. Mom went into her own little world, denying it. Dad became a cold shell of a human. And I…I had no idea how to deal. I was just hoping that this was all a dream and I would walk into school and see Heather standing at her locker, laughing at how worried I was.

I pulled into the parking lot of the school, staring at the building for a moment. Then I reminded myself that I had my friends. I had Jeremy. They were counting on me. I needed to go to school. I needed to say—to show that I was fine. That I was still alive. That I was dealing with this. I needed them to know that I wasn't broken by this. It's what Heather would have wanted.

So I pushed myself out of my station wagon, slinging my backpack over my shoulder and walking up the front steps. I opened the door and everyone's gazes turned to me. The sea of people parted as I walked through the hall. I laughed to myself as I made my way down to my locker. It was like I had become a carrier of the plague; everyone wanted to avoid me.

"Oh, Cassie!" I heard Blair, one of Heather's friends in her outer, _outer_ ring of people cry out. She came up to me and engulfed me in a hug, her perfume overtaking all of my senses.

"How are you?" She asked. "How is she?" Blair turned to the person standing next to me.

"Blair, I'm fine." I said, giving her a small smile. Blair kept her hands on my shoulders as she gave me a pitying smile.

"Just know that I'm here for you. Okay? If you need _anything_." She pushed, trying to get her point across. I raised my eyebrows and nodded, a tight smile on my face.

"Got it." I said. I moved out of her grasp and kept going down the hall. I spotted Emmy and Greg leaning up by my locker and I felt a relieved grin appear as Emmy took her foot off the bottom locker. I hurried up to them, relaxing. She quickly hugged me, pressing me close to her body.

"Hi." She said into my ear before stepping back.

"Hey." I said as Greg came in for a hug. These two were the greatest, no bullshit here.

"Uh, where's Jer?" I asked, hiking my bag up on my shoulder and opened my locker, "Swim practice should be over by now." I said, glancing at my watch.

"He's probably just showering." Greg made a face as he draped an arm over my shoulders. I shoved some books into my backpack and raised my eyebrows.

"And thank God he does." Emmy quipped, linking her arm through mine. I grinned at my best friends as we walked down the hall, going for History.

"So Blair's been spreading this rumor that Heather ran off with that Stiles kid." Greg started.

"Yeah, she's saying she got hitched." Emmy gagged. I rolled my eyes.

"Can't even let the limelight be off of her for one second." I sighed.

"You okay?" Greg asked.

"I'd be better if everyone stopped looking at me like I was wearing stripes and polka dots." I said, glancing up at him. Greg laughed.

"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll find something else to talk about." Greg nodded at me.

"I heard that Mrs. Parker is preggo, maybe that'll start circulating." Emmy gasped. She grinned at me, "You'll be old news by lunch." I grinned at her.

School was a blur for the rest of the day. I went to classes, forced a smile on my face, walked by the missing posters that were plastered around school with my step-sister's face on them. I ignored the pity looks and thanked people for their support. I was watched the entire day, given extensions on homework and was asked if I needed to see the counselor. I just smiled and told them I would keep it in mind.

Jeremy finally showed up around fourth period, giving me a nervous smile. I swallowed back my fear of him ditching me as I walked to Calc with him. We made idle chit-chat, not talking like we usually did. And then he passed me off to Emmy and Greg. Those two freely talked to me, telling me what they heard and what they didn't hear. I was grateful for them. They realized I wasn't some breakable doll, that I was strong enough to handle it, with a little help from them of course. But Jeremy wasn't being his usual self, which confused me.

I walked out of Physics, shutting my textbook over my notebook and stuffing it into my bag as I went with the flow of traffic, hair bouncing. Jeremy sidled up next to me and I gave him a smile.

"Hey." Jeremy said, giving me a nervous look in return.

"Hi." I said, blinking at his look.

"How was Physics?" He asked as we walked down the hall.

"Uh, fine." I said, noticing how many people were staring at me. I had ignored the looks the entire day because Emmy and Greg had kept me distracted. But now with Jeremy just acting like we were partners in a group project instead of a couple, I was focusing more on their words.

_Just disappeared._

_I heard she was drunk._

_Probably got herself into trouble._

_Maybe she got raped._

_Nah, she's not that stupid._

_Well, you know what they say about blondes…._

I watched as people leaned into their neighbor, whispering. They never took their eyes off of me. I swallowed and pressed my books closer to my chest.

"Cassie?" Jeremy asked, sliding his arm in front of me and looking at me.

I swallowed again as people continued to pass by, staring at me. I whirled around and watched as they walked by, looking over their shoulders at me.

"Cassie." Jeremy grabbed my arm, spinning me around. I took in a deep breath and shook my head.

"Can…can we get out of here? Just for lunch?" I asked, swallowing again, "I…I can't take it."

"Sure, yeah of course." Jeremy nodded and I grabbed his hand, basically dragging him down the hall. I pushed out of the double doors and hurried to my station wagon, throwing my backpack in the back seat and getting into the driver's seat, Jeremy following suit.

We were sitting in silence. Jeremy kept stealing nervous looks, not knowing what to say. I let out a slow breath and ran my hands over the steering wheel. I bit my lip and looked at him, catching his gaze.

"To the diner?" I asked, biting my lip. Jeremy ran his hand on his thigh and shifted his weight.

"Yeah, yeah sure." He swallowed as he bobbed his head.

I nodded and started my station wagon, pulling out of the parking lot and driving down the empty street. The entire time, I was focused on the woods around us, looking around for any signs of Heather. I didn't even realize that I had made it to the diner until Jeremy unbuckled. I blinked and parked the station wagon, turning the car off. I licked my lips and sat in my seat. Jeremy still eyeing me.

"We don't have to do this." Jeremy softly said, "We could go back to school. Have lunch with Greg and Em—"

"What if she's dead?" I asked, cutting him off. "What if Heather's dead?" I asked, voice breaking.

"No, no, Cassie you can't think like that." Jeremy shook his head as he looked at me.

"Think about it, Jer!" I cried out, "She could be dead in a ditch somewhere and here I am at the diner, eating lunch!"

"There's nothing you can do!" Jeremy shouted back at me, "Okay?" His voice became soft, "The police are on it, Cas. They're gonna find her."

"You're treating me like a doll." I softly said, looking down at my hands.

"What?" Jeremy asked.

"You are treating me like I'm a doll." I repeated myself, enunciating. I glanced over to him, "For the entire day, you've been treating me like I'm a ticking time bomb." Jeremy shifted uncomfortably in his seat. I shook my head and pushed out of the car, walking away from the station wagon and away from the diner.

"Cassie!" Jeremy followed, car door slamming as he jogged to catch up, "Cassie, wait." He called out. I hiked my bag up higher onto my shoulder as I walked down the sidewalk.

"Cassie." Jeremy groaned, grabbing my elbow.

I whirled around to look at him, yanking my elbow back. The wind was blowing my hair around as he stood in front of me.

"I'm not treating you like a doll." He lifted his hand in the air and then let it drop.

"_Really_?" I swiped back my hair.

"No." He admitted after a moment, looking at the ground and scuffing his toe against the ground. I scoffed and rolled back on my heels, turning around.

"I thought we didn't lie, Jer." I said as I turned away from him.

"Cassie." He groaned again.

"Oh don't you _Cassie_ me. It's true! This entire day, you've been walking around me like the ground was eggshells. Newsflash! I'm not gonna break down and cry in the middle of English. I can handle myself."

"I know you can—"

"Then why haven't you been able to treat me like you do usually?" I asked

"It's just all the stuff that's happening, with Heather and-"

"Heather's _missing_, Jer. Okay? And I need you to be there for me." I said.

"I _am_." Jeremy raised up his shoulders, "I've been making sure you're okay and taking you from class to class-"

"Exactly!" I cried out, "Like I'm some celebrity that just got out of rehab! You've been handling me like a bodyguard, Jeremy. And I need my _boyfriend_." I icily said. I stared at him for a moment before turning away and walking back towards the school.

* * *

Cross country practice was mindlessly numbing. I ran the course in a matter of minutes, and did my stretching and lifting without talking to anyone.

"So, did you dump him?" Emmy asked as she lifted her weights. I looked at her before shaking my head.

"No." I huffed out, "But he was so…weird today."

"He's _Jeremy_. He's always weird."

"Yeah, but this was like we weren't even together. Like we were casual acquaintances that had classes in common." I glanced over at Emmy, "And then he was all weird with Stiles and Scott at Heather's party." I placed the weights on the ground and pressed my palms flat on the wall, stretching out. Emmy copied my stance and screwed up her mouth as she thought.

"Maybe he's just trying to do what he think is right." She finally said.

"Or maybe his true colors are showing." I shot back.

"You guys have been dating for so long you're practically married." Emmy rolled her eyes, "I don't know, Cassie, maybe it's time to ya know, cut him off." Emmy shrugged as we switched legs.

"Cut him off?" I asked.

"Break up with him. You two have together for so long…how do you know that he's _the one_?" Emmy made her voice deeper, "Maybe you should try a go with someone else?" Emmy squinted an eye as she stretched out her arms. I stared at her.

"I don't know, Emmy." I looked down at my sneakers.

"Just think about it." Emmy nodded at me as she finished stretching, picking up her bag and patting me on the shoulder as she walked out.

I took my time packing up. I thought about what Emmy had said. It was true; Jeremy and I had been together for so long, I had never tried anyone else or done anything different. It was getting kind of boring to be honest. I mean, I was a seventeen year old virgin. I was practically a unicorn. Even Emmy had done it with some guy at her debate conference over the summer. And Greg probably had done if before, not that I would ever ask.

Jeremy and I had started off the perfect couple. And it was really all thanks to Heather. She had set the two of us up in freshman year. She had study hall with him and knew that he was single. Heather gave me the low down on all things he liked and did. And then, one night Heather threw a party. Of course he showed up. And we spent the whole night talking about our English assignment on Romeo and Juliet. Kind of ironic.

But now, ever since the beginning of Junior year, I started to feel weird being with Jeremy. I still liked him, but the flame had died. I was tired of the same routine. I wanted something new. Something different. I felt like I was just staying with him because of Heather. She had put us together and I felt like I owed her. But now she was gone. And I was confused. I didn't want to lose Jeremy, but I couldn't be with him anymore. It felt wrong.

I pushed out of the weight room at the same time Jeremy came out of the locker room, hair damp from swim practice. I gave him a small smile as I turned, walking down the hall. Jeremy walked next to me. I opened my mouth to say something, but he was faster.

"I'm sorry." He quickly said as I pushed open the double doors of the school. I sighed and hiked up my duffel.

"It's just…I'm worried about you, Cas." He admitted, running a hand through his hair.

"I'll be fine, Jer, okay?" I said, placing a hand on his arm.

"I'm just worried about you." He repeated himself. I sighed again.

"Nothing's wrong with me." I insisted, "Now, please go to work." Jeremy nodded and went to kiss me. I turned my head to the side so he got my cheek instead of my lips. He hesitated for a moment before straightening up

"Love you." He said.

"Love you too." I automatically answered as I twirled my keys around my finger. But I knew in my gut that it wasn't true.

"I'll call you when I'm done."

"Sounds good." I gave him a tight smile.

He turned around after taking a few steps backwards and jogged to his car. I blew out a breath before getting into my car and driving away.

* * *

I got home to a seemingly empty house. I made a face and went to the fridge, grabbing some leftovers from the party. I climbed the stairs and passed by Heather's room, seeing someone inside. I stopped and backtracked, staring into her room. It was Mom. She was lying in Heather's bed, curled up in a ball. I licked my lips, tapping my food against my palm before heading past. I heard Dad on the phone, talking to someone, probably a client.

Dad was a therapist. He had an office that he went to, talked to people about their problems. Mostly, he worked with troubled teens. He had dabbled in marriage counseling, but ultimately chose to work with teens. He had helped Heather and I through many situations as we grew up, talking us through our issues and helping us find a solution. He was the one we always went to when there was an issue. Now, I wasn't so sure I could go to him, since my problem was Heather's disappearance.

On the other hand, Mom was a tennis instructor. She had tried to get Heather and I into it when we were kids, but I quit when I was ten and then shortly after Heather quit as well. It didn't work out.

After completing my homework, I fell into my cage swing. It was dark out, the stars were twinkling through the trees. The full moon poked through the clouds. I pulled my laptop onto my lap and started scrolling through the Facebook page that was dedicated to finding Heather, started by Blair, who thought she was friends with Heather. Heather tolerated Blair. She tolerated a lot of people.

It looked like the entire grade had joined the page. Which was weird because Heather wasn't exactly popular. Sure, she threw great parties, but she was just middle class in the social aspect of high school. But I guess going missing forces you up a couple steps. There were lame postings, saying that someone may have seen her at the gym, or getting into a taxi. I sighed and closed my laptop moments later. Then my phone buzzed. I pushed myself off of the floor so I could start to swing. I grabbed my phone as I went by my bed.

"Stilinski, when I gave you this number, I didn't mean you call me right away like some pathetic girlfriend." I teased into the phone.

"Cassie, you need to get to the pool right now." Stiles' voice was serious and he totally didn't acknowledge my joke. I stopped swinging.

"What? Why?" I asked.

"Just please get here." Stiles pleaded with me.

"Okay, okay. I'm on my way." I hung up with Stiles and ran down the stairs, grabbing my car keys, not bothering to put on shoes or tell my parents where I was going.

The entire drive to the pool I was frantic. What did Stiles need me for? Was it Heather? My heart instantly contracted at the thought of Heather lying face down in the pool. I pressed my bare foot down on the gas, gunning it to make it to the pool a little faster. I pulled into the parking lot minutes later to see blue and red lights flashing off the walls surrounding the pool. I quickly unbuckled and jumped out of my car, jogging over to the ambulance. Then my heart contracted again. Everything slowed down. I saw Stiles standing with his dad. There was a body bag on the gurney in front of the ambulance. The head was still visible. I saw Jeremy's parents standing over the gurney.

"JEREMY!" I cried out, weaving through cars to get to the ambulance.

"No! Oh God, no!" I shouted, voice breaking.

Tears were streaming down my face as I got to the gurney. I felt someone wrap their arms around my waist, pulling me back. I tugged against the deputy, trying to get loose as I sobbed.

"Jeremy!" My voice broke again.

I could see Stiles and Mr. Stilinski looking at me. My knees went weak and I felt myself collapsing to the ground. I wrapped my arms around my knees and stayed on the ground. The deputy let me go. Everything was shaking. The world was spinning. I closed my eyes as I tried to regain my breathing.

"Cassie?" Stiles' voice was right beside me, but then it echoed around me. I turned my face to see him crouching down next to me. I wiped my eyes on my sleeve.

"Is he…" I couldn't finish my question, my voice was shaking so badly.

Stiles looked down then back up at me. I could see the answer in his face. A new set of tears sprung up and I started to cry again. Like a blubbering crying mess.

"H-How did he…"

"They don't know yet." Stiles said, voice calming.

"Did you find him?"

"My friend Lydia did." I sniffed and looked at Stiles.

"Your dad wants to talk to me, doesn't he?" I asked. Stiles looked over his shoulder at his dad, then back to me.

"Yeah." He breathed out. I nodded and sniffed again. I pushed myself to my feet and brushed my hands off.

"I'm not wearing shoes." I blubbered out.

Then I started laughing, which turned into sobs. Stiles hesitated for a moment before pulling me into his arms and hugging me close to him. I sobbed into his shirt.

"You give really good hugs." I mumbled, pushing away from the boy. "I have…" I wiped my eyes, "To go talk to your dad." My voice cracked.

"Come on, I'll go with you." Stiles offered, nodding his head towards his dad. I nodded and followed him to where Mr. Stilinski was standing.

"Hey, Cassie." Mr. Stilinski sadly said, "Stiles told me you knew Jeremy."

"Yeah, I mean, yes, we…we had been dating." I truthfully answered, knotting my hands together.

"For how long?"

"About two years."

"Did you see him before the incident?" Mr. Stilinski asked, hands on his hips.

"I saw him at school. He walked me to my car after school."

"But you didn't see him after."

"No, no, he told me…that he was going to call me after he was done work." I let out a shaky breath and looked at Stiles and then looked at Mr. Stilinski. Mr. Stilinski sighed and looked at me.

"All right. There's nothing else you remember?"

"No, sir." I shook my head.

"Stiles, could you follow Cassie home please?" Mr. Stilinski asked. Stiles nodded.

"Of course, come on, Cassie."

"But what about your friend Lydia?" I asked, looking over my shoulder.

"I'll catch up with her tomorrow." He waved his hand in the air, "Come on, let's get you out of here."

Stiles followed me all the way back to my house and walked me to the porch. The entire ride I had spent in complete silence, no radio on or anything. I couldn't believe Jeremy was dead. The two most important people in my life were gone.

"Do you wanna come inside?" I asked, unlocking the door and looking over my shoulder.

"What about your parents?"

"They probably won't even notice." I whispered out, going inside the house. I led Stiles up to my room, bumping the door open with my hip.

"This is your room?" Stiles asked as I flicked on the light.

"Yeah." I coughed and sat on the edge of my bed as Stiles looked around.

I had oak wood furniture that consisted of a dresser, desk, and nightstand. I had a bookcase built into my wall, just random shelves that Dad had put together, making it look like stairs. It was from floor to ceiling. I had a big window behind my bed, the roof slanting underneath it. I had strung lights across from one corner to the other across the window. I had a pull curtain that was a cream color, matching the thousands of throw pillows I had around my massive bed. My sheets were the same color as my walls, blankets and a comforter in different shades of the white. Next to the bookcase I had my cage chair in the corner, a birthday present from my parents. I had filled that with pillows as well. It was hanging by the window that opened up like a cabinet. I loved that window. I usually kept one of the doors open for Jeremy's easy access. I had closed it before I left.

I watched as Stiles walked around my room. He nodded to himself as his fingers danced on the edge of my dresser, looking at the things I had out. I was sitting on my bed, it was close to the ground, didn't really have a bed frame and was more of a glorified couch. My dresser was across from my bed and I watched as he went over to the bookshelf and scanned the book titles, smirking to himself.

"The Age of Innocence?" Stiles asked, glancing at me. I shrugged.

"One of my favorites." I softly said, pulling my knees to my chest as Stiles went over to the Sharpie covered wall that was next to the window. He trailed his hand down the wall full of Sharpie messages.

"You can write something, if you want." I offered.

Stiles turned to look at me. I got off of my bed and went over to my desk, grabbing a Sharpie. I handed it to Stiles and turned to face the wall. Then I noticed a new message.

_Love is a strong bond that is hard to break, (especially with you). I love you._

And then the date was written underneath it. It was in Jeremy's handwriting. I put my hand over my mouth and stepped away from the wall and away from Stiles.

"Cassie?" Stiles asked, not finishing his message. He capped his Sharpie and came over to me.

"I-I can't believe he's dead." I said, voice cracking, "I saw him six hours ago and now he's _dead_." My back was to Stiles, but I could hear him breathing. I went back to my bed, sitting on the edge. Stiles sat down next to me.

"We were happy." I paused, "I mean, not really since Heather disappeared, but we were working on it. I loved him. I really did, but after Heather disappeared, everything changed." I softly said, "It's like we were only staying together for her sake. Like we were only staying together for the sake of being with someone. And I didn't realize it until it was too late. Things were changing, even at the party. He was different. More—"

"Protective?" Stiles offered. I glanced at him and pulled in my lips.

"We used to laugh, and joke and be in love with each other. He was sweet and kind and cared about my feelings….And then Heather disappeared. And everything changed. Like, today he—he was acting like I was his cousin that came in from Kansas for the weekend. Didn't even kiss me hello." I whispered. Then I glanced at Stiles.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I told you that." I shook my head, "God, you must think I'm so pathetic."

"No…you lost someone, Moore, someone who had been a staple part of your life for a very long time. It's okay to doubt everything."

"When did you become so smart?" I asked, glancing at him, "What happened to the kid who thought it be a good idea to jump off the roof into a pile of pillows?"

"He grew up." Stiles softly said, hand on his thigh. I gave him a small smile.

"I guess we all did." I softly added. Stiles nodded. Then I felt his hand wrap around mine.

"I'm really sorry, Cassie." He said, looking at me. I gave him a small smile. He squeezed my hand once before slipping out of the hand hold and placing his hand on his lap. Then he spotted something hanging off my mirror.

"No way." He breathed out, getting to his feet.

"What?" I asked, feeling my brow furrow. Stiles got up and went over to my dresser, picking up the macaroni necklace I had draped on the corner of my mirror.

"You still have this?" He asked, turning around and letting it dangle in his fingers. I felt myself blush.

"Why would I throw it away?" I asked, tangling my fingers together.

"Uh, because it's from when we were _six_." Stiles rolled forward on his toes.

"You gave it to me as a present. I'm not gonna throw a present away." I shook my head.

"Right. In pre-school, I made you this for Valentine's Day." Stiles remembered, fingering the necklace. There were plastic hearts dangling off the string as he turned it around in his hands.

"_No_. You made _Heather _one for Valentine's Day. And you made me that because no one made me anything." I said, getting off my bed and going over to him.

"I did. You're right. I don't know why you didn't get anything." Stiles nodded, "I bet they regret it now." He said, glancing up at me. I tried not to smile.

"All those little six year olds didn't know what they were missing." I joked, rolling my eyes upward.

"Exactly!" Stiles laughed out, "If only they could see you now." I crossed my arms over my chest and gave him a wry smile.

"Was that a compliment?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know—maybe." Stiles shrugged and gently replaced the necklace back on the vanity. I bit my lip and nodded. Stiles' phone buzzed in his pocket. He reached in and grabbed it, pressing it to his ear.

"Hello?" Stiles looked at me, "Yeah, sure, I'll be right there." Stiles hung up and looked at me.

"I need to get to the hospital." Stiles said, tapping his phone in his palm.

"Yeah, go ahead." I waved my hand.

"Do you…do you wanna come?" Stiles offered. I looked up at him.

"I don't think I should." I softly said, "I need to tell Emmy and Greg about what happened." I realized, "Oh my God, I have to tell them he's dead." I looked at Stiles. "How do you tell someone that their best friend is dead?" I asked.

"I don't know." Stiles said, shaking his head. I chewed on my lip and nodded to myself.

"I'll call you later." I said, turning away from him. Stiles stayed behind me for a moment before I heard him walk out of my room, softly shutting the door behind him. I tapped my foot on the floor for a moment before grabbing my phone. I dialed Greg first. He picked up on the first ring.

"Greg…it's Jer." I started. And then I had to tell my best friend that his best friend was murdered. I called Emmy after and told her the same thing. I told her that I was coming over to pick her up and we were going to Greg's house.

* * *

I raised my hand to knock on the screen door. There was no answer. I looked at Emmy, who mouthed _roof?_ I nodded and went around the side of the house, using the window ledges to boost myself up to the window of Greg's room. I knocked on the window, scaring him. He pulled off his headphones and I gave him a small smile. He got out of his chair and unlocked the window. I climbed inside and wrapped my arms around him. I felt him sob and soon he was crying into my shoulder. I had never seen him cry before.

"I brought back up." I said as Emmy climbed into the room.

"There's food outside." She added before going over to Greg, wrapping her arms around him.

I went past them, going down the stairs and back outside, getting the food and movies we had. I went back up to his room to see Greg and Emmy sitting on the floor, backs up against his bed. His head was on her shoulder. Emmy looked at me and gave me a small smile. I went over to the two of them and was pulled into a group hug. I felt my eyes tear up as we held onto each other. Our group had dwindled to three.

* * *

**A/N: I'm so happy with all the feedback I've been getting! Please continue to review! xxx**


	3. Chapter 3

My phone was buzzing. That was the first thing I realized and then _OH MY GOD WHO IS CALLING ME?_ I grabbed my phone as Greg and Emmy groaned in annoyance.

"Turn it off!" Emmy mumbled hitting me.

"I am!" I said, rolling off of Greg's bed, stumbling into the hallway to answer my phone.

"Hello?" I asked, supremely tired. It was still dark outside for Christ's sake.

"Cassie, it's Dad. I need you to get to the hospital." He said. I woke up at those words.

"Why? What is it? Is it Heather? Did they find her?" I quickly fired off my questions.

"Honey, just come to the hospital." Dad said, sounding exasperated. I nodded and hung up the phone, going back into Greg's room.

"I think they found Heather." I said, shaking Emmy.

"What?" She cried out, scrambling to sitting position.

"Dad called, I have to go to hospital." I whispered.

She smacked Greg, waking him up, "Heather's at that hospital." Emmy hurriedly said. "Come on, we're going with." She said, pushing past me. Greg instantly got out of bed. I pulled on my shoes and ran out of the room, my friends following me.

I'm pretty sure I broke three traffic laws as I sped to the hospital. I tried to keep my hopes down in case I was wrong and it was something else entirely. I ran into the hospital, Emmy and Greg following. A nurse intercepted us, she had brown curly hair and a really friendly smile. She seemed like a mother.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

"I'm—I'm Cassie Moore." I breathed out, "My dad called me, said it was important."

"Are you related to Heather Moore?" She asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, yes, is she okay? Can I see her?" I asked. The nurse gave me a pitying look. Her gaze flicked over to Emmy and Greg who were standing behind me.

"Are you all family?" She asked.

"Feels like it." I admitted. The nurse looked at me for a moment.

"Okay." She finally said, "Follow me." I looked over to Emmy, who gave me an excited look, squeezing my hand. Greg nodded and me and I turned back to follow the nurse down the hall. We were leaving the patient hall and going down a different hall.

"Wait, where are we going?" I asked. The nurse gave me a look. Then she stopped almost in realization.

"They didn't tell you?" She asked, voice soft.

"Tell me what?" I asked. And then I heard a door open. My parents stepped out. Mom was crying into Dad's shoulder. "Tell me what?" I asked a bit louder. The door swung shut and I caught the word _MORGUE_.

"No." I said, voice breaking. "No, Dad no!" I cried out, tears springing to my eyes. "Tell me this is a joke!" I was crying in front of this nurse, who gave me a sympathetic smile again. "Tell me this isn't real!" I turned around to look at my friends, putting my knuckle in my mouth as I cried. They looked away from me, trying not to cry in front of me for the second time.

"What happened?!" I cried out, whirling back around. My voice was raw and breaking with each word, "What…_happened_?!" Dad came over to me and pressed me to his body. I slipped against his body, sobbing into his chest.

"Shh." He rubbed my back with his hand. I let out a hiccupping sob as wrenched against his grip. Heather was dead. She was dead. Dead. I felt my tears stop and I let out a gut-wrenching sob. Dad let me go and I turned to the nurse.

"I want to see her." I said, swiping at my eyes. The nurse gave me a sad smile and rubbed my arm. She looked at Dad, who nodded. I glanced back at my friends, holding out a hand. Emmy grabbed it and Greg grabbed her hand. I followed the nurse into the room.

It was cold. And smelled like dead people. The nurse led me over to a metal table where there was a white sheet over a body. She gently tugged it back, letting it drop right before Heather's chest. I pulled my lips in and looked away.

Heather's body was pale and there were two slash marks across her neck, dried blood by her hair. Her beautiful blonde hair was now coarse. Her skin was cold and waxy. Her lips chapped. Greg and Emmy were on the other side of her body.

"Hey, what's—what's this?" Emmy asked, pointing to the back of Heather's head. I went over to them to see the back of Heather's skull smashed in.

"That's—that's brain matter." Greg stuttered out. I gagged and looked away.

"So she was murdered?" I asked, looking at the nurse. She nodded.

"Seems like it. Whoever did this hit her on the back of the head, then strangled her with something called a garrote and then slashed her throat."

"A three-fold death." I mumbled out. The nurse looked up at me.

"What did you say?" She asked. I glanced away from Heather's body and to the nurse.

"I said that it was a three-fold death." I looked at Emmy and Greg, who were giving me a strange look. "In ancient times, it was a ritual for…" And then I realized the word, "Sacrifices." I whispered out.

"So Heather was sacrificed?" Greg asked.

"I—I don't—know. Maybe this guy just has a really morbid sense of humor." I said, shaking my head. "Sacrifices usually come in threes though. And Heather's the only one, so maybe…" I trailed off, not knowing where I was going.

"Well, that may be it, but there's a boy over there that has the exact same injuries." The nurse said. I followed her finger to another white sheet covered body. I looked at Greg and Emmy before stepping over. The nurse tugged down the sheet. _Jeremy_. I heard Greg take in a breath and looked over to see Emmy bury her head in his shoulder. I blinked and pulled in my lips, looking away.

"Did you know him?" The nurse asked. All three of us nodded. "Oh—oh I didn't even think."

"It's okay." I softly said, speaking for the three of us. "We should go." I said, looking at the nurse, "Thank you so much, Ms…"

"McCall. Melissa McCall." She warmly said.

"Are you Scott's mom?" I asked, remembering the name.

"You know Scott?" Melissa looked surprised.

"I met him once. I grew up with Stiles….Heather and I did." I said, waving my hand around and blinking.

"I wish we could have met on better terms." Melissa sadly said.

"Me too." I nodded and pulled in my lips. I glanced at my friends.

"Let's go." I softly said. Emmy nodded and reached out her hand. I grabbed it and went into her side, looking one last time at Heather's dead body. I was going to find out who did this.

"I need to call Stiles." I said as we got out in the hall, "He's gonna wanna know." Emmy nodded at me and gave me a small smile. I stepped away from the group and pulled out my phone, quickly calling Stiles.

_"Cassie?"_ He groggily asked. _"What time is it?"_

"Uh, hey, Stiles." I said, not really sure how to tell him about Heather. "Uh, sorry for calling so late. I know you have school in the morning, but—but I just wanted to tell you that—they found Heather's body." I finally said. Stiles was silent on the other end. I heard him shifting around in his bed.

_"I know."_ He finally said, _"I know, Cassie, I found out earlier."_ I blinked.

"What?" I asked, voice soft. I couldn't believe it.

"_When I—I went to hospital. I was shown the bodies, Cassie. I already know_." Stiles sounded broken.

"You _knew_?" I asked, "You—you knew my sister was dead and you—you didn't think to _tell_ me?" I hissed out, glancing over my shoulder and walking further down the hall. Stiles was silent, "Stiles!" I hissed out.

_"That was the first time I've ever heard you call Heather your sister."_ Stiles quietly said.

"Yeah, well…she's dead now so…" I said, rocking back on my heels.

"_Cassie…"_ Stiles trailed off.

"Just stop, Stiles. Just—just don't talk to me anymore." I said, shaking my head, "I was doing just fine without you in my life." I harshly said. And then I hung up on him. I went back to the group, giving my parents a small smile and saying goodbye to Ms. McCall.

Then I asked my parents if I could stay the rest of the night at Greg's. They agreed, but told me that I had to get to school the next day. I agreed with that. I think they were just happy I wasn't a blubbering mess. To be honest, I was surprised I wasn't a blubbering mess. I just felt numb. Very numb, emotionless, cold. Whatever other words you wanted to use. At least the three of us could mourn together. So I went home, packed a bag and then went back to Greg's.

I stood in the middle of Greg's bathroom. Emmy and Greg were in his room. I stared at myself in the mirror. I took in a deep breath and looked away from my reflection. Then I let out a sob. "Goddamnit, Heather!" I cried out, gripping the sink, "Goddamnit! What the hell were you thinking?!" I screamed out into the empty air. "You didn't even think! That's what got you killed! You're—you're dead! Way to go!" I heard the door open, but didn't look at who it was. I just kept sobbing.

"You messed up! You—you stupid—bitch!"

"Hey. Hey." Greg wrapped his arms around me. I sobbed into his arms.

"Heather's gone!" I cried out. I heard Emmy let out a sob. I looked up to see her clap her hand over her mouth, "Someone killed Heather! Heather and Jeremy!" I sobbed, slipping in Greg's grasp. I kept crying. I felt Greg move an arm and looked up to see him wipe away a tear. Emmy came into the bathroom, wrapping her arms around me. Greg slowly sank us to the ground, the cold tile beneath us. I sat there crying, cursing Heather for being so stupid even though I knew it wasn't her fault. Someone did this to her. It wasn't her fault.

* * *

We stayed up the rest of the night, sitting on the bathroom floor, all of us crying. I don't know when I stopped crying. I really didn't. But then Greg's alarm for school was going off. We dutifully got up and dressed for school. We went to the diner for an early before school breakfast.

"So do you think whoever killed Heather is gonna kill us?" Emmy nervously asked. I gave her a look as I stabbed my pancakes, "I mean, think about it! They were in the same friend group. And that's a pattern. Two coinciding points can define a pattern." Emmy smartly said, straightening up. I shared a look with Greg.

"I don't think so." I said, shaking my head, curls flying.

"Why?" Emmy asked, sipping her coffee.

"Because of the simple fact that we don't live in a horror movie. We live in Beacon Hills. Nothing bad happens here."

"But what about that serial killer, Matt?" Greg pointed out, "Killed all those people. They used to say that Beacon Hills was an actual beacon, maybe it draws serial killers." He glanced at Emmy, who paled. I took in a breath.

"All I know is that Heather and Jeremy were murdered, and the killer's gonna strike again."

"Yeah! At one of us!" Emmy cried out, "We need to get out of town. Go someplace else." I rolled my eyes.

"No, no that's not it." I said, holding up a hand, "I'm just—usually there's a pattern to a serial killer. Like Matt, he killed all those people on the swim team, right?"

"But Heather wasn't on the swim team." Greg slowly said.

"Yeah, I know." I placed my hand on the table, "_But_. Think back to Heather's party."

"I was not there." Greg pointed out. I sighed.

"She had this whole big plan to lose her V-card, but—"

"But she didn't!" Emmy realized, bouncing up, "I remember that cause Stiles was sitting on the couch and I—oh God." She whispered, "Oh God, he probably thinks I'm such a slut." I just raised my eyebrows at her as she slumped back.

"And Jeremy was a virgin too." I pointed out.

"So the killer is getting virgins?" Greg asked, brow furrowing.

"Well, I'm safe!" Emmy cried out, clapping her hands. I stared at her.

"But what about me and Cassie?" Greg asked, getting nervous. I did a double-take.

"You're a virgin?" I hissed out, leaning closer. Greg swallowed and glanced at Emmy, whose jaw dropped.

"Oh, guys, look." Greg said, pointing at the television. We turned and watched the news reporter talk. The waitress turned it up and we heard the reporter saying that the police had found a body of a girl who went missing late last night. She explained how the police had found the body, the same way they had found Heather and Jeremy. I felt my brow furrow and looked at my friends.

"Another virgin?" I asked.

"Maybe." Emmy shrugged. I saw Greg swallow. "Let's go, we're gonna be late." Emmy said, pushing out of the booth. "Hey, here's an idea, you and Greg can have sex!" Greg and I looked at each other. And then I burst out laughing at the same time Greg did. He slung an arm around my shoulders as we walked out of the diner. Way to go, Emmy, way to go.

* * *

I stood in the middle of my two best friends, staring up at the school. "I can't do this." I said, turning around. I went to take a step back to the parking lot, but the two of them grabbed my elbows and spun me back around.

"Yes, you can." Emmy said, hands on my shoulder. "You're gonna go in there, show everyone that you can't be withered by this storm, and then you're gonna go to this vigil tonight." Right. The vigil that Blair had pulled together as soon as she found out about Heather and Jeremy's murder. Such a saint, right?

"And we'll be right next to you the entire time." Greg added, "We lost two of our favorites too, Cassie." Greg reminded me.

"I know." I said, giving them a small smile. "You guys are great." I said, pulling them close so that their cheeks were pressed against mine.

"Now, let's go show Bitchy Blair that you don't give a fuck." Emmy quipped, straightening up. I laughed in spite of myself and walked into school with my friends on either side of me.

* * *

I went to my classes and noticed that the looks of pity I had received when Heather was just missing had intensified. Random people came up to me, hugging me and telling me it would be okay. I passed by Jeremy's locker to see that people had decorated it up with pictures of him and flowers and notes. I paused in front of it, feeling someone come up beside me.

"Quite a memorial, huh?" Greg asked. I glanced up at him.

"I still think it's weird. I mean, not that many people knew him, but now he's gone and everyone thought they were best friends." I said, motioning to the locker.

"It's a syndrome. They felt bad that they never said anything to him when he was alive and now they're feeling guilty." Greg sighed, hands in his pockets. I smiled to myself, tracing my fingers over one of the pictures of me and Jeremy. And then reading the message Greg had written on there. _I'll take care of her. We all will. Don't worry._

"And then there's Heather's." I said, turning around to face Heather's locker.

It just had simple pictures on the locker door, post-it notes, nothing as big as Jeremy's. I swallowed back tears and walked over to it, Greg following. I bent down in front of it and sat down , staring at the pictures and watching the candles flicker. Greg sat down next to me. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close. And then I heard someone walk up next to me and saw Emmy's brown oxfords. I looked up at her and she sat down next to me, crossing her legs Indian Style. I sat there with my friends, looking at the picture that was taped to Heather's locker. It was a picture of the four of us on the beach that previous summer. Jeremy was taking the picture. I was next to Heather in between Emmy and Greg, hair wet from the water, all of us laughing. The perfect Kodak moment.

Emmy rested her head on my shoulder and I swallowed back as Greg wiped his eyes with his free hand. People milled around us, whispering about us, but we were in our own little bubble.

"I said I was going to murder her." I whispered, breaking the silence. I was crying again.

"What?" Emmy asked, picking up her head, her face was tear-stained and I saw Greg wipe at his eyes.

"The morning after she went missing, I was on the phone with Jer and I said I was going to _murder_ her."

"You weren't serious, Cas, we know that." Greg said, rubbing my shoulder.

"Right, but I still _said it_." I glanced at him. "I said it and—and then she was murdered!" I cried out, fresh tears springing up. Greg pulled me close to him.

"Cas—why is your dad here?" Emmy asked, brow furrowing. I pulled out of the hug and scrambled to my feet as Dad walked down the hall.

"Dad?" I whispered out.

The hallways started to spin. I blinked back my tears as everything condensed and then released. I felt my breathing hitch and I heard voices echoing around me. I swayed to the side, books falling out of my hands. And then everything went black.

_"Cassie?"_ I heard Dad's voice above me.

_"Cassie?"_ Greg's voice.

"_CASSIE_!" It was Heather's voice. She was screaming, voice full of fear and despair. I shot up into a sitting position, frantically looking around me. I was in the school hallway. There was no Heather. She was dead. I blew out a breath and shoved my hand through my hair.

"Cas, are you all right?" Emmy asked, placing a hand on my shoulder. I looked over at her.

"Yeah, yeah sorry." I shook my head. "What happened?"

"You fainted." Dad said, getting my attention. I stared at him.

"I just got scared to see you here…" I trailed off as Emmy helped me to my feet. Dad swallowed and nodded.

"Yeah—yeah I should have told you, I'm sorry." Dad said, offering a hand. I gave him a small smile.

"So what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to talk to some of the students about what happened." Dad explained. I took in a breath and nodded.

"Right. Well—do you want to talk to us?" I asked, motioning to my little group. Dad eyed us.

"Maybe later. You guys are always together and you know where to find me." Dad said, hands on his hips. I nodded.

"I'll see you at home." I said, licking my lips. Dad nodded and took a step back before walking past us.

"Okay, we need to get out of here." Emmy said, taking my elbow. Greg nodded.

"No, guys, no." I said, pulling out of her grasp, "I need to stay. I want to stay. Okay? I can't stop living now that they're gone." Emmy gave me a small smile. Greg ruffled my hair. I took in a breath and walked down the hall, holding my head up for the sake of living.

* * *

That night, I went with my parents back to the school. I stepped out of the car, shoving my hands into my peacoat. I blew out a breath and stared at the football field. The field was illuminated by hundreds of candles. I walked with my parents to the center of the field. Emmy took my hand and handed me a unlit white candle. My parents went over with Jeremy's parents, who gave me a sad smile. I hugged them, saying how sorry I was before stepping back and going back with my friends. Emmy lighted my candle with hers. I stood next to Emmy as the choir started singing Saving Grace. I swallowed back as I looked at the school pictures they had put up of Heather and Jeremy, flowers around the frames. I felt someone step up next to me. I glanced over to see Stiles standing next to me, unlit candle in his hand. He looked down at me, giving me a sad smile. Tears sprung up as I tipped my candle forward, lighting his. Stiles leaned down as I lit his candle.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you." He whispered as the flame caught on the wick. I stepped back, remembering that my hair was flammable.

"It's okay." I whispered back.

"No, Moore, I—"

"Can we talk about this later?" I asked, glancing at him. Stiles licked his lips and nodded. I gave him a small smile and turned back to the front. His arm brushed against me as I leaned into Emmy, her arm wrapping around my shoulders as we stood there.

Afterwards, Emmy and Greg decided to go to the diner for a late dinner. I told them to wait for a second as Stiles walked away. They gave me and knowing look and told me that they would be at the diner. I went up to Stiles, blowing out my candle.

"Stiles! Stiles, wait up." I said, hurrying up to him.

"Hey, Moore." He said, blowing out his candle.

"Uh, my friends and I are going to the diner-it's stupid, but—I was wondering if you wanted to come." I said, scratching my temple.

"That'd be really cool." Stiles nodded, "Thanks." I nodded and turned away, walking the way I came.

"So the vigil was nice." Stiles mentioned as we walked to his Jeep.

"You didn't have to come you know." I said, shaking my head.

"No, I did." Stiles nodded as he sighed. I looked over to him. "How you holding up?"

"Truthfully?" I asked, Stiles nodded, "I'm not as bad as I thought I would be. I'm doing all right. I mean, I'm sure I'd be a lot worse if I didn't have my friends with me. They lost Jer and Heather too." I quietly said.

"No, you're right. I'm glad you have them." Stiles nodded. I smiled at him. "I'm sorry I haven't been there for you."

"It's all right. You have stuff, I get it." I waved him off.

"No, but I shoulda called or something." Stiles ran his fingers through his hair as we got to his Jeep.

"It's okay." I softly said, looking over the hood of the Jeep at him. Stiles nodded and gave me a small smile.

"I'm sorry she's gone."

"Me too." I said, giving him a small smile before getting into the Jeep.

The ride was short and soon I was getting out of the Jeep, Stiles pulling open the diner door for me. I pulled off my hat and stuffed it in my pocket. I waved at my friends and slid into the booth, sitting across from Greg. Stiles sat down next to Greg.

"I don't think we've met." Greg said, holding out a hand, "Greg."

"Stiles." Stiles shook his hand.

"What's that short for?" Greg asked.

"Ah…" Stiles started. I laughed, catching his eye, "I'd rather not say."

"Is this some inside joke between you two?" Emmy asked, nudging me.

"You're the girl who basically passed out on my lap." Stiles said, pointing a finger at Emmy. Emmy blushed and looked away from him.

"Yeah, I'm really sorry about that."

"It's cool." Stiles gave her an easy grin.

I took one of the fries from the plate in front of us. Stiles glanced at me and the conversation fell into a pace. Stiles fit right in with us, it was weird. I never would have guessed that he would come back into my life after he switched schools. But here he was, talking sports with Greg. Emmy elbowed me. I elbowed her back and gave her a look. Maybe this would all be okay.

* * *

**A/N: Much sad. Very much sad. I hope you guys enjoy where this is going... Maybe? Let me know please! Feedback is important! xxx**


	4. Chapter 4

"There's this wall in my room that I let my friends write stupid stuff whenever they're over. Stupid little messages fill up this wall. Heather used to be the one who would write the biggest and the most. She would always date them and put a line around them so no one would write on top of her message. So I just want to read the last thing she wrote on my wall. _Cassie. I can't write poems like you can, but here goes nothing. The music is pumping, the house is ready, and it's time to PARTY!_" I laughed to myself, "I think she was trying to go for a haiku. Well, Heather…A for effort."

I laughed to myself again and looked up at the sea of black that I was standing before. There was a small titter of laughter from the crowd. I was speaking at Heather's funeral. I was volunteered by Mom to speak first about my sister. I hated it. I was already halfway through my speech and was still shaking. I scanned the crowd and then saw Stiles sitting in the middle of the church dressed in a suit and tie. His dad sitting next to him. I felt my grip on the podium tighten as my breath caught in my throat. I swallowed and quickly looked to where Greg and Emmy were sitting. Emmy nodded at me and Greg gave me a small smile. I blinked back tears and looked back down at my speech.

"Heather was always one to party. One to laugh and one to never be serious. And that's what she'd want all of us to do. I've known my sister, yes I said sister, since I was three and no one can replace her. Even though she always acted like the older one, I knew she would always come to me for anything. And I would do the same." I blinked, a tear splashing onto the pages of my speech.

"The worst day, in loving someone, is the day that you lose them. You never truly know what you have until it is gone from your life forever. When you lose somebody, every candle, every prayer, is not going to make up for the fact that the only thing you have left is a hole in your life where that somebody you cared about used to be. And a _rock_, with a birth date carved into it!" I fumed, getting angry.

The tears were freely falling as I clutched at the podium. I couldn't breathe and ended up sounding like a dying cat as I tried to regain my breath. I closed my eyes, trying to calm down. And then I felt someone's arm around my waist, gently pulling me away from the podium. I turned into the person's torso, crying into his shirt. I looked up, noticing who was holding me. Stiles gave me a small, sad smile before wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close. I turned my face into his chest, before pushing out. Stiles helped me down the altar and back to my seat, sitting next to me. Emmy rubbed my shoulder as Stiles took my hand.

The rest of the people got up to talk, Emmy and Greg going together. I thought Stiles was going to get up at one point, but he stayed by my side during the whole thing. And then it was time to go to the graveyard. I was separated from Stiles as he went with his dad and I went with my family. I leaned on Dad's shoulder the entire time.

Of course, we needed a police escort to the graveyard. And since Heather was a part of a murder case, there were reporters all over. I held onto Mom's hand as we shoved through the crowd of reporters. I kept my head down as questions were fired at me.

_Who do you think could do this?_

_Do the police have any leads?_

_Is there anything you can tell us?_

Not one, "How are you holding up?" Or a "I'm so sorry for your loss." I finally got past the barrier and I picked my head up to see my friends struggling, but eventually making it through. I gave them a small smile and extended my hand. Emmy took it and pulled me close as we went over to the coffin. I glanced around to see Stiles standing a little ways off. I turned back, watching the coffin being lowered into the ground. It was empty because the cops wanted to keep Heather's body for the investigation.

When it was my turn, I dropped my handful of dirt into the hole, saying goodbye to my sister. I stared at the hole as Emmy sprinkled her dirt into it, then Greg. I took in a breath and nodded, stepping back from the grave. Greg rested his arm on my shoulder, leaning into it as he tried not to cry. Emmy was silently crying next to me and I felt my stomach tying in knots. My lower lip was trembling and then I finally burst out a sob, crying along with my friends.

After burying Heather's coffin, the funeral party went back to my house where Mom had set up pictures of Heather around the house. It was like a party celebrating her life. I had a glass of orange juice in my hand and was talking to Greg and Emmy about the family members that were in the house.

"Hey, Cassie. Can I talk to you for a second?" Stiles asked, coming up to me and placing a hand on the small of my back. I looked at him over my shoulder and pulled my lips in.

"Alone." He added, looking at Greg and Emmy.

I looked back at Emmy who gave me a small smile and squeezed my hand. Greg nodded at Stiles before glancing at me. He took my plate that I was holding, letting me go with Stiles.

"I'll be right back." I promised, stepping away from the group.

Emmy instantly moved closer to Greg as I walked away, their backs turning to face me as Stiles turned me around to face the foyer. He kept his hand on my back as he led me through my house and out to the pool deck.

"You can take your hand off of me now, Stiles." I sang out once we were outside.

"Sorry." Stiles apologized, removing his hand and shoving it into his pocket. I tilted my head forward and raised my eyebrows.

"It's okay." I said after a moment, nodding at him. "Uh, thanks…for earlier." I said, scratching my temple.

"Yeah…yeah I know how tough it is." Stiles nodded. I gave him an understanding smile.

"And thanks for being here today. It means a lot." I said, hands around my glass.

"No, yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Stiles asked.

"Cause we haven't talked since we were eight." I said, shrugging.

"Heather was my best friend all throughout pre-school. Of course I would be here." Stiles softly said.

"I wish we stayed in contact." I reached out and rubbed his arm.

"Well, maybe this is a sign." I gave him a look, "You know what I mean." He sighed.

"Mmm, don't think I do." I shook my head.

"Maybe—maybe Heather's death was just some sort of karma as to not staying in contact."

"Really?" I asked, doubtful. Stiles sighed and gave me a sideways smile. I blinked and took in a breath.

"She loved you." I said, nodding.

"I know." Stiles nodded. I gave him a small smile and stepped back.

"I should get back inside." I lamely said, thumbing over my back, "Family and everything."

"Right. Yeah…" Stiles trailed off, "I'll see you around."

"Don't disappear again." I said, pointing at him as I stepped back. Stiles smirked at me and lifted his glass at me. I walked back inside and paused, thinking about the conversation I had just had.

I pulled my lips in and shook my head before taking a seat on the couch. People were walking around my house, crowded together in little groups as they looked at the pictures of Heather that Mom had set up the previous day. I took a sip of my orange juice and picked up the picture that was on the coffee table. It was taken on the porch of the house. I was sitting next to a little Stiles, Heather on the other side. We must've been about four. What with the high-waisted shorts and the white socks up around our ankles, it totally screamed late nineties. Our knees were touching as we held dripping ice cream cones in our hands. My eyes were shut because I was smiling so broadly. I had bouncy pigtails. Stiles' hair was shaven and his face was a little round as Heather had her lips against Stiles' cheek, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Stiles didn't appear to notice, just was happily holding up his ice cream cone for whoever had the camera to see. I laughed at the irony in the picture before setting it back down on the table.

"Hey, Cas." I felt someone sit beside me.

I turned to see Greg sitting with his hands wrapped around his coffee mug. His elbows were planted on his thighs as he leaned forward. He blew out a breath before shoving his hand through his mop of hair.

"Can I ask you something?" He asked, looking at me. I raised my glass to him, indicating he could continue.

"This might not be the right time or anything, but…"He paused. I sipped my orange juice, waiting for him to continue, "Do you think Emmy would go out with me?" He asked. I choked on my juice.

"Thank God!" I cried out. Greg looked taken aback. I grinned at him

"What?" Greg's eyebrows shot up.

"I'm pretty sure both of us have been waiting for you to make a move for the last five years." I said, smiling at him. Greg rolled his eyes.

"So is that a yes?"

"Yes. Yes, she totally would. You guys spend so much time together already." I said, sipping my juice. Greg laughed.

"I just haven't gotten up the courage to ask her out."

"Then go for it." I said, raising my cup towards where Emmy was standing by the poster board of Heather's pictures. "Take a leap of faith, man."

"Really?" He asked, pushing up his glasses. I nodded. "All right." He blew out his cheeks then gave a nervous laugh.

"You'll be fine." I said, patting his arm. Greg shifted his body and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close.

"So will you." He murmured into my ear. I fought the urge to cry as I pulled away from Greg.

"What are you doing over here? Go!" I said, hitting him again.

"Alright! Alright." He put his hands up to defend himself against anymore blows. "And you have to go talk to stalker boy over there." He said, nodding his chin up. I looked over my shoulder to see Stiles staring into his cup.

"Who? Stilinski?" I asked, looking back at Greg. He nodded as he stood up from the couch, leaving his coffee mug on the coaster.

"Go. Talk to him." Greg said, nodding his head again. I just raised my eyebrows and took a sip of my drink. Greg winked at me before going over to Emmy. I watched as Emmy's face lit up when Greg came over to her. I laughed to myself before turning and looking back at the rest of the photo frames.

"Hey, look at this." Stiles said, coming over to me. He sat down next to me, a picture in his hand. I took it out and stared at it, a smile peeking out.

"Look at how cute we were." I cooed.

It was a picture of our two families at the beach. We would go every summer for a week and just relax and hang out. We had stopped though, after Stiles' mom got sick. I stared at the picture, smiling to myself.

"You look just like your mom." I softly said, staring at Claudia's face. Stiles had her eyes, her nose and her mouth. I glanced up at him to see him lick his lips and wipe away a lone tear.

"Oh, Stiles." I started, "Shit, I'm sorry." I said, putting the picture down.

"No, it's fine." Stiles shook his head, "Funerals, you know?" I nodded at him.

"Yeah, yeah I know." I rubbed his arm, "But, they're supposed to be celebrating her life. We're supposed to be talking about the good times, reminiscing so the memories never fade." I reminded him. Stiles looked over to me. I gave him a small smile. He nodded and took my hand in his. I squeezed his hand as he gave me a sad smile.

For the rest of the day, Stiles followed me as I talked to each family member. It was nice having him next to me. Although at one point, it did become awkward when an uncle would ask if Stiles and I were together. If I had gotten over my boyfriend that fast. It was supposed to be a joke, I knew that much, but it still didn't mean that it didn't hurt. Stiles kept his hand on the small of my back, rubbing a small circle with his thumb to keep me calm. I forced a smile on my face and laughed saying that it was a little too soon for that.

Emmy and Greg were off and talking to each other. I saw them once or twice and they seemed fine. I was happy for them. If something good could come out of this, I was glad that it was those two.

Finally, the last relative had left. Emmy, Greg and Stiles were outside. I was helping my parents clean up. I put the leftovers in the fridge and then wiped down the counter. Mom went back into the living room, leaving me and Dad.

"Cassie, I just want to tell you how proud I am of you." Dad said, glancing at me.

"Thanks." I said, giving him a small smile. Dad smiled back and pulled me close, kissing the top of my head.

"You've been so strong through this whole thing." Dad murmured into my hair. I smiled as I scrubbed a dish.

"It's good that you're getting friendly with Stiles again." Dad said as he pulled back. I handed the dish to him.

"Yeah?"

"I just wouldn't get too close." Dad cautioned. I gave him a look.

"What? Why?" I asked.

"Just take my word for it." Dad said in a tone that said _drop it_. I blinked and went back to rinsing off the plate. I heard the porch door open and peered out to see Stiles walking into the living room.

"Dr. Moore, I actually have to get going." Stiles said, clasping his hands in front of himself.

"Oh, well, thank you for coming, Stiles." Dad said, shaking Stiles' hand, "And tell your Dad thank you for everything he's doing."

"They're gonna figure out who did this." Stiles nodded, "It's personal." He glanced at me, "See ya, Moore."

"Bye, Stilinski." I said, giving him a small smile. Stiles shoved his hands into pockets and walked out of the house.

"And _why_ don't you like him?" I asked, looking at Dad.

"I don't not like him, but he's just…" Dad trailed off.

"Is he one of your patients?" I hissed out, dropping my sponge.

"No! No." Dad seriously said, "But I know that he saw one of my friends a little while back…"

"Well, of course he did, Dad. I mean, some kid in his school murdered all those people and then trapped him and his dad in the police station." I desperately said, "I mean, wouldn't that fuck you up?"

"Hey, watch your mouth." Dad pointed at me.

"Dad, he's a good kid." I promised. Dad just looked at me.

"Hey, Dr. Moore!" Emmy said, coming into the kitchen, "Do you need some help?" She asked, holding onto Greg's hand.

"I, uh, think we're good here." Dad said, nodding at the two. I arched an eyebrow and looked in between them.

"Uh, then can I steal Cassie for a moment?" Emmy asked. Dad started to answer, but Emmy grabbed me, running up the stairs, dragging me along with her. She went into Heather's room, shutting the door behind me.

"What's the big deal?" I asked, laughing to myself.

"Greg asked me out on a date." Emmy whispered out. My eyes widened.

"At Heather's funeral party?" I hissed back.

"Eh, minor details." I rolled my eyes, "Oh, come on, Cassie, be happy for me. It's what Heather would have wanted."

"Very true." I nodded. "I'm glad for you two."

"Thanks, Cassie." Emmy wrapped me in a hug, "And I saw you and that Stiles kid chatting it up." She made a face as she stepped back, "So?"

"So what?" I asked, laughing.

"Is there anything there?"

"Uh, no." I said, shaking my head. "No."

"What?" Emmy cried out, "I saw you two laughing."

"At an old picture what are you doing?" I asked, shaking my head. "I just lost my boyfriend like four days ago and you're already setting me up?"

"_No_!" Emmy gasped out. "I would never."

"Emmy, I'm happy for you and Greg. I really am. But I wanna try this whole 'being single' thing." I said, making air quotes. "I need time to mourn."

"Okay." Emmy nodded and me, taking my hands in hers. "Okay." She gave me a hug. "I'll see you tomorrow at school?" I nodded, giving her a smile.

"Of course." I said. "I have to come. I have to go to practice. We have districts in two days." I reminded her. Emmy grinned at me.

And then she rubbed my arm as she walked by, going out of Heather's room. I sighed and took off my heels. I scratched my head and surveyed Heather's room. It was still messy like it was Friday night. I didn't think anyone had been up here to clean. I licked my lips and started cleaning. I picked up her laundry, organized her desk and made her bed. I stepped back, leaning against the doorframe.

"Miss you, Heather." I said, "Hope you're up there partying." I said before pushing off of her doorframe and going into my room.

I stripped out of my dress and pulled on my pjs. I went over to my desk and pulled out my notebook. I uncapped my pen and stared at the blank sheet of notebook paper. I hadn't written since Heather disappeared. I wanted to write down all my feelings, make it flow. I licked my lips and sat back in my chair. The only thing that was on my mind was Stiles.

Emmy's words echoed in my head, that we were laughing together and he was with me the entire time. I tapped my pen against my teeth. I liked Stiles; he was my friend. I grew up knowing that Heather had a major crush on him. That she thought she was going to marry him. Heather had dibs. And I had to respect that, even though she was dead. I needed to prove to her that I still knew my bounds.

_Dear soul,_

_ Dear mind, _

_ There's nothing more beautiful _

_ Than such pain,_

_ To write about. _

* * *

**A/N: I'd like to thank prettyargents, c-bellz, Bigun03, and BrittWitt16 for the lovely reviews! Means a lot guys!**

**A/N2: A little bit of a filler chapter, I know, but I felt like we needed some closure. But the next chapter will get into some more action, Cassie's gonna put on her detective hat...so stay tuned! xxx**


	5. Chapter 5

I dragged my fry through the puddle of honey mustard as I watched the news. We were at the diner, books spread out across the table. Greg and Emmy were working on history while I watched the news.

"Guys." I shook Greg's arm, "Guys, look." I pointed at the television. There was another dead body. It was a kid from South BHHS. Stiles' high school. The kid was strung up the same way Heather was and so was Jeremy. I swallowed and dropped my fry on the plate.

"I—I have to go." I said, getting out of the booth.

"Where are you going?" Emmy asked as I grabbed my coat.

"I have to go talk to Stiles—the kid is from his school. Maybe he knew him. Maybe he was virgin." I pulled on my jacket and put on my hat.

"Think Stiles' is gonna know?" Greg asked.

"I'm gonna find out." I said, giving them a tight smile. I pushed out of the door to the diner, getting into my car. I remembered where Stiles' house was from the countless times of being there as a child. I got there fairly quickly, parking in front of the house. I hurried up the front steps, knocking on the door.

"I hope you remember the fortune cookies this—" Stiles stopped short as he pulled open the door, realizing it was me.

"You're not the delivery guy."

"Nope." I said, pulling in my lips, "Sorry." I said, rocking back.

"It's cool." Stiles waved his hand in the air.

"Can I come in? I have to talk to you." I said.

"Hey, was that the Chinese—oh." Scott said, "Hey….Cassie, right?"

"Yeah." I nodded, "Hi, Scott." I waved.

"What are you doing out there?" Scott asked, "Come on in." I smiled at him and looked to Stiles. He nodded and stepped to the side.

"Uh, can I grab you for a sec?" I asked, taking off my coat.

"Yeah, yeah." Stiles nodded and walked into the kitchen with me. I smiled at the familiar place.

"Listen, I was watching the news tonight and I heard about the kid…"

"Yeah, Kyle. He was a senior on the team." I gave him a small smile.

"Right." I nodded, "Did you know him well?" I asked.

"Not really." Stiles made a face, "Why?"

"It's just—" I knotted my fingers together, "I have this theory. Heather was killed by someone, and so was Jeremy, but it's the way they were killed that intrigued me." I paused, "You'll think I'm crazy."

"Trust me, I won't." Stiles sighed out, giving me a look. I nodded to myself.

"Uh, the way the two were murdered is called a three-fold-death." I said, "In ancient times it was a method used for sacrifice. People usually sacrificed virgins to their deities because virgins were pure and it pleased the gods." I paused, "Heather was a virgin and so was Jeremy….so I was just wondering if—"

"Kyle was a virgin too." Stiles finished for me. I nodded. "No, no he wasn't." Stiles sighed out, "I had the same theory, until today. When Kyle showed up dead. And then our music teacher went missing and then our Chemistry teacher."

"So what's the pattern?" I asked, "Was Kyle a teacher?"

"No, but he was in ROTC. And the teachers were retired veterans." Stiles explained.

"So someone is sacrificing soldiers and virgins?" I asked, brow furrowing. Stiles sighed.

"I don't know." He said, leaning on the counter. There was a knock on the door.

"That's probably your Chinese." I said, tilting my head. Stiles nodded, "Can I use your bathroom real quick?" I asked. Stiles nodded again.

"Remember where it is?"

"Of course." I grinned, "I could never forget the place where I was locked with you for an hour." I said, grinning at him. Stiles rolled his eyes and pushed off of the counter. I watched him go before going into the powder room. I pulled out my phone and quickly dialed Greg.

_"So? What'd he say?" _Greg asked on the first ring.

"The kid wasn't a virgin. He was in that ROTC program and then Stiles said that two of his teachers went missing as well." I hissed out, glancing at the door, "They were veterans or something."

"_Virgins and soldiers? What kind of angle is this guy playing?"_

_ "_I don't know, but I'm like eighty-eight percent sure that Stiles knows what's happening." I whispered.

"_Well, get off the phone! Go and be Nancy Drew!"_ Greg cried out before hanging up the phone. I sighed and opened the door, hearing voices.

"No, dude, we can't tell her." It was Scott.

"She's already figured it out! Well, somewhat." Stiles.

"I can't risk getting another person hurt." Scott was saying.

"She deserves to know." Stiles said. I stepped out of the bathroom and into the living room.

"Deserves to know what?" I asked, getting both boys' attention. Stiles paled and Scott's eyes widened. "Deserves to know _what_?" I repeated myself.

"That…that they gave us an extra orange chicken!" Stiles flubbed, gesturing to the takeout bag, "You can have it if you want." He shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked back. I eyed them warily.

"Okay…" I trailed off and went up to the bag, taking the orange chicken. "Well, I'll be taking this and…if you ever _really _want to tell me what's up….you know where to find me." I said, giving the boys a knowing look. I turned away and heard Scott smack Stiles' chest.

"Now we don't have any orange chicken." He hissed out as I opened the front door. It was raining, a huge thunderstorm brewing. I ducked and ran through the rain, getting into my car and driving down the street, towards home.

* * *

I stabbed at the orange chicken as I read over my English notes. I had called Greg back and told him that Stiles wasn't telling me anything. He promised that he would do some research after he was finished with his homework. I thanked him and hung up the phone. The only reason why I knew about the three-fold death and the rituals was because in sophomore year English we did a section on Celtic folklore and read all these passages. There was one story about the Lindow man. He was found in England, strangled, head bashed in, throat cut. A three-fold death. The story went that they also found mistletoe in his stomach which was a druid plant. The druids were Celtic balancers of sorts. The word _druid_ meant wise oak in Gaelic. The druids were close to nature, they were philosophers and scholars, not serial killers. Thank you, Mrs. Parker.

I tapped the plastic fork on my mouth, reading over my notes, when there was a knock. I glanced up to see Dad leaning against the doorframe. "Hi." I said, giving him a smile.

"How are you?" Dad asked. I lifted the chicken up.

"Good, stopped and got dinner on the way home." I said, giving him a small smile. Dad nodded and came into my room, sitting on my bed with me.

"Where's Mom?" I asked, handing him the fork.

"She's sleeping." Dad said. I glanced at the clock.

"It's only seven." I said, brow furrowing. Dad sighed.

"She's been having a rough time." I nodded, giving him a small smile. "Speaking of, I want you to talk to someone about what happened."

"No, Dad, I—"

"Hear me out. I want you just to talk about how you feel." Dad said. "I've talked to one of my friends, Ms. Morrell, and she's willing to speak with you."

"Why can't I just go to my school counselor?" I complained.

"Because I trust Ms. Morrell, I've known her a long time." I rolled my eyes and snatched the fork back.

"Fine." I muttered out, "I'm guessing this appointment is tomorrow?"

"Before school." Dad nodded. I sighed. Dad kissed the top of my head, "You're doing great so far." Dad said. I made a face as I stabbed at my chicken. Dad got off my bed and walked out of my room, closing the door behind him.

I grumbled before finishing off my chicken and throwing out my trash. I got changed and placed my notes on my desk, getting into bed to have another restless night of tossing and turning before waking up and getting changed, going to North BHHS.

I walked into North BHHS the next day, silently cursing Dad for making me go talk to this woman. I was fine, there was nothing to talk about. I didn't understand why I was talking with someone about my feelings when I should be trying to figure out who killed my sister and boyfriend. Not talking to some shrink.

The hallway was bustling with people as I walked down. Sure, before school, yeah that meant that there would be no one there, right? Wrong. Wrong wrong wrong. I kept my head down as I walked through the crowds, getting to the guidance office. I reached for the doorknob as I heard a,

"Moore?" _Stiles_. I made a face and turned to look at him.

"Hey." I said, giving a wave as he and Scott came up to me.

"What are you doing here?" Stiles asked.

"Uh.." I glanced up at the door, "Just surveying the competition." I said, making a face. Stiles' eyebrows knitted together.

"What?"

"We made it to districts. North and South BHHS did. So we'll be running against each other." I said, motioning to us. Stiles and Scott shared a look.

"Well, get ready to get your asses kicked." Stiles joked, hand on his backpack strap, "We haven't been beaten in like five years."

"Ha." I made a face, "Yeah, okay!" I said as the boys passed me. Stiles shook my shoulder, "See ya there, Stilinski." I called out to their backs. Then I shook my head and turned back to the office, opening the door and stepping inside.

"Cassandra." Ms. Morrell warmly said. I gave her a tight smile.

"Cassie is fine." I said as I walked over to the other side of the desk. Ms. Morrell nodded and gestured for me to sit.

"I know your dad asked you to come. I'm happy you decided to."

"I'm mostly just doing this for him." I said, shrugging, "He seems to know you pretty well. And he says the guidance counselor at my school is completely inept." Morrell smiled at that.

"We were all friends in college." Morrell nodded at me. I gave a small smile. "But just because we were friends, doesn't mean I'm going to tell him what we talked about here."

"_All_?" I asked. Morrell nodded.

"Your father, your mother and myself were all friends." I licked my lips and glanced away from the woman. She knew my mother. I took in a breath and shook my head, turning back to Morrell. We stared at each other for a few minutes.

"So, Cassie, how are you?" She finally asked, folding her arms on the desk.

"Fine." I nodded and shrugged. Morrell stared at me. I knew these tactics, I had a therapist for a dad.

"Your dad tells me that you've been handling Heather's death very well." Morrell said, breaking first. I nodded.

"Mostly because I've had my friends with me."

"They lost someone too." Morrell realized. I nodded.

"People hurt together." I simply said.

"So they're there for you?"

"Always." I said, staring at the guidance counselor.

"I know Heather's a part of the murder case that's going on. How do you feel about that?"

"How do I feel about _what_?" I asked, "The fact that my sister and boyfriend were murdered by some psycho who thinks it's funny to replicate ancient sacrifices?" Morrell only blinked at me. I blew out a breath, "I think that it's ridiculous."

"But how do you _feel_?"

"Angry. Upset. Pissed off. Annoyed."

"Why?"

"Because the police aren't doing their goddamn job." I snapped out. "Three more people have been taken, one of them found dead and there is _nothing_ being done about it." Morrell just stared at me.

"Why Heather? Why Jeremy?" I quietly asked, "Why now?"

"I don't have the answers to those questions, Cassie." Morrell quietly said, "I know that you've been through something tragic. I know that when someone goes through something like this, you tend to block it out, pretend it hasn't happened."

"But I haven't done that." I said, "I know that it happened. I know that I have to go about my life without the two most important people in my life, I get that, but I don't understand why."

"Sometimes there isn't an answer for the whys in life." Morrell said, giving me a small smile. I returned it and wiped at my eyes.

"You have been doing incredibly well for someone who has lost the two most important people in her life." Morrell said. "I'm just afraid that one day you will break."

"Break?" I asked, brow furrowing.

"It's been known to bottle up emotions, not let them out." Morrell paused, "When was the last time you wrote?"

"Dad told you." I realized, slumping down.

"It is a way to release your emotions."

"Yeah." I sighed out. Morrell eyed me, "I haven't written since her funeral." I admitted.

"Do you feel like you've been bottling up your emotions?"

"I have to." I blurted out without realizing it, "I have to put on a good face. A fake smile and say I'm fine for everyone's sake. I can't let them worry about me."

"Why?"

"Because I'm not the victim. Heather is—or was." I said, blinking.

"It's okay to break down." Morrell said. I bit my lip.

"Yeah, yeah okay. Well, this has been good." I said, glancing up at her, "Thanks."

"My door is always open, Cassie. I'm here to answer any questions you may have." Morrell nodded at me. I faltered as I went to pick up my bag.

"You mean about my mother?" I asked. Morrell just lifted her chin at me, fingers underneath. I pulled in my lips and grabbed my bag. I turned my back to the counselor and walked out of the office.

I closed the door behind me, wiping at my eyes, not paying attention and I slammed into someone.

"Oh, shoot!" The woman cried out. I jumped, startled.

"I'm so sorry." I said, reaching down to help her pick up the papers that I had knocked to the ground.

"It's fine." The woman looked over at me. She blinked at me for a moment before she shook her head and continued to gather up papers. I stood up at the same time she did, handing her back the tests.

"Thank you." She said, giving me a warm smile. Then she looked at me again, "Are you new here?"

"Me? No. I don't even go here." I hurriedly said, shaking my head. The woman nodded and gave me another smile.

"Well, it was nice to meet you…"

"Cassie." I finished for her.

"Ms. Blake." Ms. Blake nodded at me. I gave her a small smile. "Have a good day, Cassie."

"You too." I nodded at her as she walked down the hall. The bell rang, signaling the start of the day. I hurried down the hall, back outside and into my car and heading back to school.

* * *

I walked into my high school in a daze. Ms. Morrell knew my mother. She probably had answers to all the questions I couldn't ask my dad. Why did she give me up? The real reason. Was my mother pretty? Did she get good grades? Was she nice? All of these questions raced through my mind. Then I realized how petty I was being. I couldn't ask this woman about my mother. That was so selfish of me. I had bigger things to worry about than if my mother had an obsession with dark chocolate. I made myself forget about my meeting with Ms. Morrell and focus on the day I had in front of me. I had to get ready for districts. I had to figure out who killed Heather and Jeremy. I had to focus.

I had made plans with Emmy for her to come over after school. Emmy and I had a tradition. Every year, before a big meet, we would have a sleepover, just us girls. Greg wasn't on the team and neither was Jeremy or Heather so they went out and we stayed in. It was a nice tradition, but it was never for districts. This was the first year we made it to districts.

We went to practice, Coach letting us out early but making us promise to run before the day was over. Emmy went with Greg and I went home, ready to get the run out of the way. I quickly changed and grabbed my phone, clicking in my earbuds. I jogged down the stairs and went into the living room to see Mom sitting on the couch, reading a book,

"Hey, I'm gonna go run." I said. Mom nodded at me,

"I'll be home before dark." Another nod,

"I'm pregnant." I deadpanned, crossing my arms. Another nod.

I sighed and turned away going for the door. I stuck my earbuds in and clicked on my music, my phone attached to my arm in the armband. The beat of Jamie N Commons Rumble and Sway pulsed through my ears as I took off towards the town.

I ran through the town, weaving around people and heading to the reserve. I ran the trails there because no one ever ran there. It was a nice and quiet place to run. I quickly hopped the chain and ran into the woods, focusing on my breaths as I ran the trail. I ran up one of the hills, keeping pace when I came upon the old Hale house. I paused, staring up at the huge thing. It was a miracle that it hadn't been vandalized or anything. I carefully walked up to it, taking out one of my earbuds as I walked up the steps. The Hale house had burned down almost eleven years ago. Eight people were trapped inside. Apparently some woman named Kate Argent had set the fire. It seemed like a jealous ex thing to be honest. Boy breaks up with you, you have some anger management issues and you set his family on fire. Sad, actually.

There was a red door that was still standing. It looked like it had been freshly painted and then a cat or something clawed up the paint. I pushed open the door, looking at it a little more closely. The claw marks had ripped off the paint, almost in precise strokes, like it knew what it was doing. I traced my fingers over the marks. I took a step back, seeing the full picture. It looked like a swastika turned on its side. I felt my brow furrow as I looked at the symbol. I tapped my foot on the floor boards before turning around, facing the inside of the house.

I walked inside, noticing the footprints in the dust. It looked like a couple someones had been here already. Probably a bunch of teenagers who decided to come get drunk. I had heard that it was private property, but the town took it back after it became clear nothing was going to come of it. I went into what looked like was the living room, noticing the giant hole in the ground. I peered down into it, seeing a purple flower sticking out of the ground. I got to my knees and reached inside, picking up the flower. I had seen a picture of this in my health book. _Wolfsbane_. You could get poisoning from it if you had too much of it. I twirled it in my hands, watching it for a moment. I let it drop to the floor as I got to my feet. There was nothing here that interested me. Just some gang signs and pretty flowers.

I stuck my earbud in and continued through the reserve. I passed through the shallow creek, getting to the other side as I ran. I passed by a huge stump. I made an impressed face as I ran by. That tree must have been huge before it was cut down. I wondered when it was cut down before shaking my head. I ran past it, getting back out to the street. I ran back towards the town, staying on the side of the street as I kept my pace.

Once I was back in town, I ran past all the stores and shops, going around people and other runners. I came around a corner, slamming into someone. I groaned as I bounced back, falling on my ass.

"Oh, sorry!" I heard a voice say from above me. I waved my hand in the air. The figure reached out a hand to help me to my feet.

"It was nothing." I said, making a face. The guy looked down at me, concern written across his face.

"You sure?" He was in running shorts and a South BHHS Cross Country tee on.

"Ah the enemy." I muttered out. The guy's face paled.

"What?" he nervously asked.

"I go to North BHHS." I explained. The guy relaxed, "We're running against you guys in districts tomorrow." I explained.

"Ah, okay. I'm new so I don't really know the whole rivalry thing." He said, waving a hand in the air, "Ethan." He gave me a friendly smile.

"Cassie." I said, taking his hand and shaking it once, "You said you were new to South BHHS?"

"Yep." Ethan nodded.

"You don't happen to know a Stiles Stilinski, do you?" I asked, making a face.

"Uh, yeah." Ethan nodded, "Yeah we have a few classes together."

"And he's on the cross country team."

"Right." Ethan gave me an easy grin. Then his eyes flicked to my hands, "Oh, you're bleeding."

"Oh, shit." I whispered out, noticing my palms.

"Come on, I think there's a CVS down a block."

"For someone who's new here, you really know the area." I quipped, giving him an easy smile.

"I have to get to know where I'm running." Ethan easily said, "Come on, let me get you some band-aids." I gave him a small smile and we started walking down to the CVS.

"So, did you move here with family? Or by yourself?" I asked, trying to make conversation.

"I have a twin." Ethan said, flashing a grin at me, "Though everyone says I'm the better looking one." I laughed. "What about you?" I stopped laughing and tried to figure out the appropriate response

"Uh…" I scratched my temple, "My step-sister passed away almost a week ago." I finally admitted. Ethan stopped walking. I suddenly got really nervous.

"Well, now I'm gonna buy you band-aids and chocolate." Ethan finally said, smiling at me. I felt myself smile back at him.

"Fattening up the competition?" I asked. Ethan shrugged.

"Apparently we haven't lost in years." I rolled my eyes and kicked at one of the stones, "I'm sorry, though, about your step-sister." I gave him a small smile, "I know what it's like to lose someone. My parents died a few years ago." I stopped walking.

"Maybe you should get some chocolate too." I said after a moment. Ethan flashed me a grin. "I'm sorry too." I said as Ethan started walking again.

"Nothing like a walk to CVS to bring out the saddest secrets." Ethan sighed. I laughed.

"We both deserve some chocolate." I said, nodding at him.

Ethan chuckled as we turned into the CVS. He bought me a pack of band-aids and two bags of M&Ms. We sat outside on the bench as I put my band-aids on my palms. And then Ethan handed me a bag of M&Ms, I gave him all the blue, green and brown ones and he gave me the yellow and red and orange; we started talking about how he was liking Beacon Hills. He told me that he was interested in this guy, Danny, at his school. I told him that he should go for it. Soon our bags were empty and we were saying goodbye, I thanked him for the candy and the band-aids. He told me that he would see me tomorrow at districts. I laughed and told him to prepare for battle. And we headed off in our separate directions.

I got home and quickly showered, before packing a bag for districts. I threw in my clothes and running gear before zipping it up and tossing it in the corner of my room. I walked around my room and stopped in front of the Sharpie wall. My eyes scanned the hundreds of messages there before landing on one I hadn't seen before.

_Cause I'm Slim Shady, yes I'm the real Shady_

_All you other Slim Shadys are just imitating_

_So won't the real Slim Shady please stand up,_

_Please stand up, please stand up? – Stiles (I'm the real Slim Shady)_

I snorted to myself as there was a knock on my window. I opened up the door and let Emmy in. "Hey." She said, grinning at me. I grinned back at her as she stumbled in, dropping her bag on the floor.

"What's up?" I asked as she held up the plastic bag.

"Got food." She grinned at me.

"Perfect." I said, "Outside?" She nodded.

I closed the window, going over to the bigger window and sliding the glass open. I went out to the roof, settling down as Emmy came out after me, placing the food bag in between us. I sat there, arms on my knees as Emmy opened the food bag, popping a fry in her mouth. She sat back on her hands and the two of us sat there in silence for a few minutes.

"Remember last summer, we would come out here, you, me, Greg, Heather and Jer and Heather had made us wish on the North star?"

"Yes." Emmy seriously said, nodding once. "She said that we all had to wish at the same time so all of them would come true."

"And Greg shouted out his wish cause he's—"

"An idiot." Emmy laughed, "I do. I remember that."

"Heather was so pissed." I laughed as I shifted my weight. "God, she didn't talk to him for the rest of the night."

"Such a drama queen." Emmy sighed out. I gave a little half-smile. I searched the sky, eyes landing on the North star. I took in a breath and debated on making a wish or not.

"I miss them." Emmy softly said. I glanced over at her. "I miss Heather being a drama queen, I miss Jeremy bringing us coffee before school. I miss seeing you two together. I miss seeing Heather when I walk into your house. I miss it all." Emmy softly said. I licked my lips and looked away from her, staring at the sky again.

"Me too." I said, sighing. "But we can't just live in the past, Emmy, we—we gotta move on, even if it hurts. They wouldn't want us to stop living." I looked at her. She pulled her lips in and nodded.

"True, very true." Emmy said, wrapping an arm around me, "PS, bus buddies for tomorrow?" She knocked her knee against mine.

"Of course." I scoffed.

"Just making sure." Emmy put her hands up.

"So, what's in the bag?" I asked, eyeing the food.

Emmy laughed and started to pull out the bags of food. She handed me a burger and fries, while taking out her breakfast food. We sat on the roof talking about the races we had to run the next day and how prepared we were. When we finished eating, I climbed back into my room, Emmy getting into my bed and falling asleep almost instantly. I climbed into bed next to Emmy, staring at my clock. I could hear the white noise outside my window, but it was different, I couldn't put my finger on it, but I felt different.

I guess I eventually fell asleep because the next thing I knew, Emmy was waking me up, telling me to get ready. I pulled on my warm-ups and zipped up my hoodie, grabbing my duffel and leading Emmy downstairs. My parents weren't up yet. I scribbled out a reminder to them before walking out of the house, Emmy on my heels.

I parked my station wagon and hurried up to the bus, choosing a seat towards the back. I put my duffel in the seat in front of us and sat by the window, Emmy next to me.

A few minutes later, the bus roared to life. We were off to districts. A five hour bus trip. Just the two of us. And the rest of the team. I pulled out my iPad and opened up my notepad. I shifted in my seat and glanced at Emmy, tilting the iPad towards her.

"So I've been doing more research on the three-fold death." I started, "And basically what's happening here is a bunch of sacrifices. This three-fold death thing was often used as a punishment for an offense."

"But what did any of the victims do?" Emmy asked, brow furrowing.

"I don't know." I said, scrolling down my iPad, "But I know that this dark Druid or whatever was killed or almost killed by werewolves."

"Werewolves?" Emmy asked, doubtful.

"This is what Wikipedia says, okay?" I said, motioning with my hands, "Doesn't mean I believe it." Emmy gave me a look, "Maybe this guy just watches a lot of television." I shrugged, "_Anyway_, druids were often advisors of sorts to the werewolf packs. It started with Lycaon, you remember him right?"

"Invited Zeus to a banquet and then tried to serve him the flesh of a human being. Angered, Zeus blew the place apart with lightning bolts and then punished Lycaon and his sons by turning them into wolves." Emmy made a face, "Thank you Mrs. Parker." I nodded.

"Right, but I did some more digging on that whole myth and found that he sought out the help of the Druids. The belief was that the ancient druids knew how to shape-shift. They couldn't make Lycaon and his sons human again, but they _did_ teach them how to shift back and forth. And so the druids became important advisors to the packs." I finished, tapping out of my notes.

"So you think whoever is doing this is getting revenge on werewolves? That doesn't make sense considering Heather and Jeremy weren't werewolves." Emmy shook her head.

"I don't know." I sighed, rubbing my forehead, "I know we're getting somewhere though." I blew out a breath and watched the scenery go by. "I just want to know who did this."

"I know." Emmy quietly said. I flipped the cover of my iPad up and over and leaned my head on the window, closing my eyes.

I woke up when I heard something pop. I shifted in my seat, sitting up straight as the bus rattled. I glanced to Emmy, who was waking up as well. There was another groan as something broke in the bus. And then we were pulling off the highway, into a rest area.

"It looks like there's something wrong with the bus, so if you could all just take your bags and get off in an orderly fashion…" Coach started. I slumped down, sighing. Emmy grabbed our duffels, handing me mine. I followed everyone off the bus, going over to one of the picnic tables.

"_Great_." I groaned out as I placed my bag on the table. I climbed over the bench and sat down, putting my head in my hands.

"Of course this would happen. The first year we make districts and our bus breaks down!" Emmy cried out. I murmured in agreement.

"This sucks." I said, lifting my head and glancing towards where Coach was talking to the bus driver. There was a plume of black smoke coming from the hood of the bus. I shook my head and turned back to Emmy.

"So…how are you and Greg?" I asked, trying to start conversation.

And Emmy ran with it. She talked about how they had a date planned for when we got back from districts, what they were going to do, what she was going to wear. I listened, smiling and nodding at the right parts, but all around thinking about the things I had read on the bus. If werewolves really _did_ exsist, which they didn't, but if they did, then all the animal attacks would make so much more sense. But I didn't live a badly written horror movie, where the blonde dies first. I lived a plain, old, very unlucky life. And I would just have to deal with the fact that nothing was ever going to come out of Heather's death. She was dead, someone had killed her and the police had no idea who. Had no leads or anything. And soon, it would be a cold case.

About an hour later, there was some rumbling from the exit and up came a second bus. I looked at Emmy and quickly got off the bench, going over as the bus parked itself. Students started streaming out of the bus, hands covering their mouths. All of a sudden, the stench hit me. I gagged and turned away.

"You suck, Jared!" I heard someone call out. I placed my hand over my mouth, trying not to breath in the scent when someone knocked into me.

"Hey!" I called out.

The person glanced over their shoulder. It was Stiles. He was supporting someone, who was limping. A girl with short, brown hair was on the other side of the guy. Stiles' eyes widened as he helped whoever it was into the bathroom. A girl with pretty red hair went after them. I looked at Emmy before going into the bathroom.

"He's not letting himself heal cause Derek died." Stiles' voice echoed through the bathroom. _Derek_? _Healing_?

"So what do we do?" A girl's voice asked.

"Stitch him up." Another girl's voice simply said, "I'm serious. Maybe all he needs to do is believe it's healing." _What the fuck?_ I mouthed out to myself.

"He's gonna need another shirt, where's his bag?" The first girl asked.

"I'm gonna get it. I hate needles anyway." Stiles said, I heard him moving. I stepped back, making it seem like I was just coming into the bathroom. Stiles rounded the corner and we ran into each other.

"Oh, sorry!" I called out as Stiles put his hands on my shoulders.

"Good?" He asked, looking down.

"Yup." I nodded and side-stepped him, trying to get into the bathroom.

"Uh, I wouldn't." Stiles said, shaking his head, "Scott's in there, like throwing up all over the place." He easily said, motioning with his hand.

"Is he okay?"

"He's an empathetic vomitter." Stiles nodded, taking his hands off of me, "I was actually going to go get him another shirt, he threw up all over –it's bad." I grimaced.

"Well, that sucks." I said, turning away from the bathroom. I crossed my arms as I walked away.

"So, why are you here?" Stiles asked.

"Our bus broke down." I said, glancing at him. Then I saw the red-head standing beside Stiles, "I'm Cassie, by the way." I said, giving her a smile.

"Lydia." The girl gave me a tight smile in return. I made a face as she hurried off, going to get Scott's bag. I glanced at Stiles before going over to Emmy, who was on her phone, talking to Greg. I heard a shout and looked over to see a curly haired boy slam Ethan up against a tree, slamming his fist against his face.

"Hey! Hey!" I cried out as the boy continued to pound on Ethan. A crowd had formed, North and South BHHSers alike, watching this fight. I shoved through the crowd, trying to get to the front.

"Back off!" I said, getting in front of Ethan. The boy didn't notice and I felt his fist slam against my jaw, knocking me to the side, making my head explode in pain.

"Cassie!" Emmy cried out.

"Oh shit." I heard Stiles say. The entire world was spinning as I clutched my jaw. I tried to stop swaying as I heard Scott's voice amongst the ringing in my ears. I stumbled into Emmy's arms, the world still spinning out of control.

"ISAAC!" It has a sense of power to it, but I could've just been hearing things. I stretched my jaw, trying to get it to click back. I shook my head and spat out blood. I ran my tongue over my teeth, nothing seemed loose.

"Are you okay?" Stiles asked, coming up to me. He took my hand off my jaw to inspect the wound. He grimaced to himself. "Let's get you some ice." Stiles said before taking my hand and helping me to the bus.

He grabbed the first aid kit where there were flares, band-aids and an ice pack that you popped to make cold. I sat on one of the picnic tables. Stiles gently pressed the ice pack to my jaw. It stung a bit, but felt good. I placed my hand over his, both of us holding the bag.

"What were you thinking?" Stiles asked, eyes on me.

"That boy was just wailing on Ethan for no reason." I said, "Why wouldn't I do anything?"

"You know Ethan?" Stiles asked, looking concerned.

"Sorta. He ran into me the other day. Like literally." I said, motioning with my free hand. Stiles glanced over his shoulder.

I looked to see Isaac and Scott talking, both of their gazes darting over to me. I averted my gaze and looked to where Ethan was being tended to by some kid. Stiles licked his lips and turned back to me, hand slipping out from under mine. Emmy came hurrying over, concern written across her face.

"Are you okay?" She asked, slipping in front of Stiles. I nodded and shifted the ice pack a little.

"I'm fine." I said, giving her a small smile. I glanced over her shoulder to see Isaac and Scott coming over to us, Scott holding his side.

"I'm so sorry." Isaac apologized, hand out in front of him. "I really didn't mean to hit you."

"You have an impressive right hook for such a scrawny boy." I said, shifting my weight. Isaac looked embarrassed. "But it's okay. You didn't break my face or anything."

"I'm still sorry." Isaac gave me a small smile. I returned it and stuck out my free hand.

"Cassie." I said.

"Isaac." He took my hand in his and shook once before giving me a more genuine smile. I nodded at him, then looked to Scott.

"How's the stomach feeling?" Scott shot a panicked look to Stiles.

"You were throwing up all over yourself, dude." Stiles said, as if reminding Scott. I shared a look with Emmy as Scott coughed.

"Oh, yeah. I'm—I'm fine." Scott said. They were hiding something. Idiots.

"North and South BHHS! On the bus!" Coach cried out, motioning to the bus that Scott and Stiles were on.

"Looks like we're sharing a bus." I said, looking to Stiles. Stiles had his hands on his hips and gave me a tight smile.

"Cool." He nodded at me.

Emmy helped me off the table, grabbing our bags in the process. We made our way to the bus, sitting a couple seats down from where Stiles was sitting with Lydia. Ethan and his friend were in front of us and he turned around to make sure I was okay. I nodded and told him I was. Then he introduced me to his friend, Danny. I gave Ethan a knowing look two which he blushed and turned back around. I glanced over my shoulder to see Stiles animatedly talking with Lydia.

"You know what?" Emmy said, getting my attention. I looked at her, "I was talking to Greg and he said that-" Emmy glanced at me, "In ancient times, people used to sacrifice others in preparation for battle."

"So what? A battle against werewolves and druids?" Emmy shrugged. I licked my lips and looked away from Emmy as the bus bumped along the highway, towards districts.

* * *

**I'd like to thank c-bellz, RHatch89 and BrittWitt16 for reviewing! I really appreciate it guys!**

**This chapter was packed with character introductions and detective Cassie. I hope you enjoyed it!**

**If you celebrate Christmas, I hope you have a very very merry Christmas and Santa brings everything you wished for. I hope your holidays are fill with joy and happiness. I love you all very much! xxx**


	6. Chapter 6

The bus pulled into the parking lot of the motel we were staying at for the night. I looked out the window to see the neon lights flash _The Glen Capri_. I made a face as I looked at the dingy motel. The rest of the students got off the bus and I slung my bag around, following the crowd. I stepped off, standing next to Emmy as everyone unloaded. My stomach twisted up as I looked at the motel. This place was not good.

"I've seen worse." Scott proclaimed. He looked infinitely better than he looked at the rest stop as Stiles gave him a weird look.

"Where have you seen worse?" Stiles asked, scrunching up his nose. Emmy leaned her head on my shoulder as the two coaches came back, keys in hand.

"Listen up!" The South BHHS coach yelled out. I cringed at his voice. He was annoying, kept blowing his whistle at all possible times. "Districts' been pushed till tomorrow. This is the closest motel with the most vacancies and least amount of good judgment when it comes to accepting a bunch of degenerates like yourselves." I shared a look with Emmy as the coach pointed at all of us, "You'll be pairing up. Choose wisely." He held out the keys, our coach doing the same. Emmy went up to her, grabbing one of the keys marked with a _216_.

"There will be no toleration of pranks or hazing between the two teams. We are here to sleep and rest up for districts!" Our coach yelled out.

"And I'll have no sexual perversions perpetrated by you little deviants." The other coach added, "Got that? Keep your dirty little hands to your dirty little selves!" Emmy made a face at me as we walked across the parking lot. I gave her a nervous smile in return.

"You good?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I just don't like this place." I shrugged. Emmy scoffed.

"It's just for one night." She reminded me as she put the key into the door. I took in a breath and nodded. Emmy stepped inside, dropping her bag. I stood in the doorway, looking in. The room was tiny; two beds, a bathroom, desk and a dresser with a mirror. And it smelled like smoke.

"You're really freaked out, aren't you?" Emmy asked, noticing my expression. I lifted my chin and opened my mouth a little.

"I just have this feeling that—that this isn't going to end well." I said, shaking my hand out. Emmy looked at me.

"What do you mean? Like we were supposed to come here? Like _fate_?" She asked.

"I don't know." I shook my head, screwing my mouth to the side, "But it's something."

"I don't believe in fate. Or any of that love at first sight shit." Emmy shook her head. I glanced up at her.

"Yeah…" I trailed off.

"Come on." Emmy dragged me over the threshold and into the room.

I grimaced as I stepped inside, placing my duffel on top of the dresser. Emmy went over to the nightstand and picked up the card that was resting on it.

"Non-smoking my ass." She scoffed out before flinging the card to the side. She fell face first onto the bed. I made a face.

"Oh, God, please get up. There could be bedbugs or like semen or something." I pleaded, making her shoot up to her feet.

"Ew! Ew, ew." Emmy made a face, gagging as she waved her hands in the air. She bounced from foot to foot before shivering and making a noise.

"Ung." I made a noise, "Who know when this was last cleaned." I said, trailing my finger on the edge of the dresser, coming away with a dusty finger. I grimaced before perching myself on the edge of the desk.

"So I have an assumption." I suddenly said, getting Emmy to look at me. She cocked an eyebrow.

"Don't assume, Cassie, it makes an ass out of you and me." Emmy sang out. I rolled my eyes.

"I have a _theory _then." I made a face and Emmy made one back, "Lydia. The girl who found Jeremy's body."

"Right? What about her?"

"Isn't she the one who escaped the hospital after that animal attack? Wandered in the woods for like a night, came out naked, and there wasn't a scratch on her?"

"I remember that." Emmy nodded, making her thinking face, "So? What does she have to do with—"

"Maybe she killed Jeremy and Heather." I cut off my best friend. Emmy pulled back, eyes going wide.

"Why?" She asked, "Cause she found Jeremy's body?" I screwed my mouth to the side and tapped my fingers on the desk. "Just cause she found the body doesn't mean she killed him." Emmy reminded me.

"But why was she at the pool?" I asked, looking back at her, "It was like ten, Emmy, the pool was closed." Emmy didn't answer. My stomach twisted up as I thought of something, "Do—do you think he was cheating on me?" I whispered out, voice breaking. Emmy's eyebrows shot up.

"_What?!_ Are you out of your _fucking mind?"_ Emmy walked over so she was standing in front of me, "I _highly _doubt Jeremy was cheating on you. Especially with the crazy red-head who wandered in the middle of the woods for a night, stark naked." She put her hands on my shoulders, "You two were like Han Solo and Princess Leia." I gave her a confused look. Emmy's eyes widened.

"Please tell me you've seen Star Wars." She whispered out. I grimaced, emitting a groan from her. "Cas! I gave you the box set for Christmas like last year, are you kidding me?"

"I'm sorry!" My voice hit an octave as I raised my shoulders, "I just—there are a lot of movies." I said, making a face. Emmy groaned and shook my shoulders.

"You are ridiculous. It makes me—I just—ugh!" She shook me again. "I'm taking a shower." She let go of me and went over to pick up the towel, sniffing it. She made a face and tossed it at me.

"These smell like smoke." Emmy said. I scoffed and refolded it.

"I'll see what I can do, Emmy." I said, walking for the door.

Emmy went into the bathroom as I shut the door behind me, twirling the room key around my finger. I trampled down the stairs, towels in hand, getting to the main office. Lydia came up to the front window at the same time I did.

"Excuse me?" She spoke first, "The card on the dresser says we have a non-smoking room, but somehow all of our towels reek of nicotine." Lydia's gaze travelled over to me and I gave her a side smile, holding up my towels. The woman turned around and my eyes slid over to the tube sticking out of her throat.

"Sorry about that, sweetheart." The woman's voice was gravelly. My eyes were fixated on the tube, as Lydia's travelled up.

"What's that? That number?" Lydia asked, getting my attention. I followed her gaze to see a number hanging off the wall. _198._

_"_It's a kind of inside thing for the motel." The woman laughed as if it was joke. "My husband insists on keeping it up."

"What do you mean?" Lydia asked. I leaned my elbow on the counter.

"It's a little bit morbid, to be honest. You sure you want to know?"

"Tell us." Lydia instantly responded. The old woman gave a toothy grin.

"We're not gonna make the top of anyone's list when it comes to customer satisfaction."

"_Obviously_." Lydia muttered out.

"But we are number one in California when it comes to one disturbing little detail. Since opening forty years ago, more than any other motel in California, we have the most guest suicides." Lydia and I shared a look as the lady gave a proud smile. I was freaked.

"A hundred and ninety eight?" Lydia asked

"And counting." She added, laughing. I made a face and slowly took my towels back.

"You know what? I think I packed a towel, so I'm just gonna—"

"We're gonna go." Lydia said, making a face. The woman laughed at us as I quickly backed away, spinning on my toe and hurrying out of the office, back to the parking lot.

"What the hell?" I hissed out as Lydia came up to me.

"I don't know." She whispered out.

"_All _suicides?" I whispered.

"Apparently so." I felt my brow furrow as we went up the stairs. "And we're talking forty years. One average that's four point nine five a year."

"Weird." I said, shivering. Lydia gave me a small smile. My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out to see that Greg was calling.

"I'll talk to you later." I bid goodbye as I opened the door to my room, setting the towels on the dresser and walked back out, answering my phone.

"Hello?" I asked into the phone, closing the door behind me.

_"Hey. Emmy shot me a text. You guys good?" _Greg asked. I went to the balcony, looking over the parking lot.

"Yeah, we're staying at this really crappy motel though." I sighed out, leaning my elbows on the railing.

_"What's it called?"_ He asked.

"The Glen Capri." I said, peering at the sign.

"_I've heard of that." _Greg mused, _"Uh, isn't that the one with that holds the record for most guest suicides?" _

"Sometimes you scare me." I said, rolling my hand on the railing. Greg chuckled.

"_I have a lot of free time, okay?_" I laughed, _"Are you sure you guys want to stay there? I could come get you." _ He offered.

"No, no it's good." I said, shaking my head, "Emmy and I aren't suicidal or anything so we should be fine." I tried to make light of the situation. Greg was quiet.

"_I really don't mind…._" He started.

"Greg, we can handle ourselves." I said. I didn't want him to drive all the way out here. It was pointless. "Okay? It's just for a night, I swear."

"_Okay._" Greg relented. I heard a door open and turned around to see Lydia motioning to me.

"I, uh, gotta go. I'll call you in the morning." I said, hanging up on Greg. The door to our room opened and out stepped Emmy. She looked at me, then at Lydia.

"Both of you, get in here." Lydia said, waving her hand at us.

I glanced at Emmy before hurrying into her room, Emmy behind me. She carefully closed the door and turned to face Lydia. Lydia walked over to the bed, perching herself on the edge. Another girl came out of the bathroom, pulling on a sweater. She stopped when she saw us, glancing at Lydia.

"This is Cassie, Stiles' friend. She's the sister of the girl that Stiles grew up with." Lydia quickly said.

"Step-sister." I automatically corrected, "And this is Emmy, she goes to North with me." I said, motioning to Emmy.

"Allison." The girl gave me a tight smile.

"Cassie was with me when the woman at the front desk told me about the suicides." Lydia explained. I crossed my arms over my chest as Allison glanced at me.

"Suicides?" Emmy asked. I glanced at her.

"The motel holds a record for the most guest suicides." I explained. Emmy's brows furrowed.

"All suicides?" She breathed out.

"Yes." Lydia spoke up, "Hanging, throat-cutting, pill-popping, both-barrels-of-a-shotgun- in-the-mouth suicides. I don't know about you guys, but me, I—" She abruptly stopped talking. Her brow furrowed, "Did you hear that?" Lydia asked.

"Hear what?" Allison asked, looking at the red-head.

Lydia's brow furrowed even more as she stood up. We watched her turn around and carefully step onto the bed, staring at the vent. Her head tilted to the side, like she was hearing something. Lydia's breathing sped up, hitching at one point. I took a step forward as Allison cautiously went,

"Lydia?"

I could hear her whispering _Oh my God._ over and over again. I cast a glance to Emmy, who looked freaked out. I licked my lips and stepped forward just as Lydia flinched back, hand flying to her mouth. Allison jumped as Lydia spun around, clambering off the bed.

"What is it, Lydia? What happened?" Allison asked. Lydia was shaking.

"Didn't you hear that?" Lydia asked, voice breaking.

"Hear what?" Allison asked.

"The people in the other room—they shot each other!" Lydia gasped out before shoving by me as she ran out the door. I looked at Emmy for a spilt second before running after her.

Lydia pushed into _218_ and stared into the dark room. "Hello?" She called out as Allison, Emmy and I stood behind her. Lydia fumbled for the light switch, flicking it on and off, not getting any light. Lydia licked her lips and stepped into the room.

"Lydia, what are you doing?" Allison asked. Lydia didn't answer, just ventured deeper into the room.

She slid her hand across the side of the room before finding a light. She flicked the switch, illuminating the room. It was being renovated. Lydia was crazy. I stepped into the room as I glanced at Emmy, who had a confused look on her face. Lydia turned to us.

"It had to be right here." Lydia stated, walking around the room. I stepped inside, looking around. There were sheets on the floors, plastic on the walls, paint cans all around. I screwed my mouth to the side.

"It was a guy and a girl and they sounded younger, but they were _here_." Lydia said, facing us.

"I believe you." Allison said. "After everything we've been through, I really believe you." Allison nodded. I cast another glance to Emmy, who cocked an eyebrow.

"So you believe that a couple shot themselves right here? And the only way of knowing is by Lydia hearing something?" Emmy piped up, getting the two girls' attention, "I'm sorry, but I don't understand." Emmy said, holding up a hand.

"You think I'm crazy." Lydia realized, stepping forward. I scrunched up the side of my face.

"Well, yeah, kinda." Emmy said, shrugging, "I mean, I get the whole _we've been through so much_ stuff and everything, but I just don't understand what that stuff was. And since I don't know everything, my only theory is that you're fucking _nuts_." She finished, staring at Lydia. Lydia took in a breath and glanced at Allison. She looked like she was about to fire back something before shaking her head.

"Right now, we just need to get the hell out of here." Lydia said, pushing by me and stomping out of the room. Allison followed, leaving me and Emmy in the renovated room.

"What if they're renovating because they've been scraping brain matter off the walls for the past year?" I quietly asked. Emmy looked at me.

"Please tell me you don't believe that." She groaned, motioning to where Lydia was standing, "This is the girl who ran naked in the woods for a whole night." Emmy cried out, "Are we really gonna trust her judgment?"

"Emmy, you heard me, this place holds a record for the most guest suicides, of _course_ I'm going to think that this is why they're renovating." I said. My friend eyed me.

"Okay." She relented, "Okay, if it'll make you feel better, we'll stick with them." I nodded. Emmy gave me a small smile and turned back, walking out of the room and into the hall. I followed her as she went back to Allison's and Lydia's room. I followed and as Emmy got to the door, the door swung open, Allison in the doorway.

"We're sticking together." I firmly said, slipping in front of Emmy, "We don't know what you two have been through, but if it's enough to make you believe Lydia telling you that a couple shot themselves even though we couldn't hear it, then we're sticking with you." I said, lifting my chin. Allison nodded.

"We're going to find out what happened in that room." Allison said as she walked out into the hall. The four of us hurried to the main office, only to find a sign that said _Be back at 6 am _on it. I slumped forward, defeated.

"Well, there goes that plan." Lydia sighed out. Allison was looking at the numbers on the back wall.

"Lydia, didn't you say the number was one ninety eight?" Allison asked, looking over her shoulder. Lydia furrowed her brow and looked at the sign, which now read two hundred and one.

"It was one ninety eight." Lydia stated, "I swear."

"Okay, then what does that mean? Does it mean that there were three more suicides?" Allison asked.

"Or three more about to happen." Lydia seriously answered. I chewed on my bottom lip as I shared a worried look with Allison.

"We need to tell Stiles." Allison said, "He'll figure something out, maybe know what to do." Allison motioned with her hands.

Lydia pulled out her phone, quickly texting Stiles. Allison nervously twisted her hands together as we walked back up the stairs, heading into the two girls' room again. Stiles met us at the door, giving me a small smile as we walked into the room. I stood next to Emmy as the rest of the group formed a semi-circle.

"There's something going on here." Lydia stated, "There's a number at the front desk that commemorates how many guest suicides there have been."

"So?"

"The number was one ninety eight when Lydia and I went to switch out towels." I started, getting Stiles' attention, "And when we went back a few minutes ago, the number was two-oh-one." Stiles' brow furrowed.

"So three more suicides happened?" He asked.

"Three more are about to happened." Lydia corrected. "Does this place feel weird to you?" She suddenly asked.

"You mean, besides the horrific amount of suicides?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. Lydia glanced at me.

"No, Lydia might be onto something. Earlier tonight, I was showering and I pulled aside the curtain and Scott was standing there. He tried to pull the curtain down and it was like he was—he was in a daze of some sort. And then he snapped out of it, saying he didn't know why he was even there in the first place." Allison shook her head, confused, "The only other time I'd seen him act like that was on a full moon." I shared a glance with Emmy.

"Scott was definitely a little off with me." Stiles nodded, "But actually, it was Boyd who was really off. I watched him put his fist through the vending machine." Stiles mimed the words he was saying. Emmy caught my gaze, _Boyd?_ She mouthed out. I shrugged.

"See? It is the motel." Lydia pointed out, "Either we need to get out of here right now or…" She opened the desk drawer and pulled out a Bible, "Someone needs to learn how to an exorcism ASAP before the werewolves go crazy and kill us." She waved the Bible in the air. My ears perked up at the word _werewolves_. I did a double take, looking to Emmy, who paled. Why were they talking about werewolves?

"Okay, hold on. What if it's not just the motel?" Stiles asked, "The number in the office went up by three, right?" Stiles continued. Everyone's heads bobbed in a nod

"You mean like three sacrifices." Allison said, hands in her back pockets. Stiles nodded.

"What if this time it's three werewolves?" Stiles started taking a step towards her.

"Scott, Isaac and Boyd." Allison murmured. The three of them had forgotten that Emmy and I were there. I stared at Emmy. Werewolves. It was all real. Or they were all bat shit crazy together and we had just joined a cult.

"Maybe we were meant to be here." Stiles agreed.

"Exactly! So can we get the hell out of here now?" Lydia asked, getting closer to Stiles. "Please?" Stiles looked down at the Bible, noticing something.

"Wait, hold on." He took the Bible from Lydia and started flipping through the pages. He pulled out a news article.

"Twenty-eight year old man kills himself at the infamous Glen Capri." Stiles read off.

Then he put the article on the bed and went to the next tucked in page, pulling out another article. He raised the Bible up and shook out the pages, letting all the articles fall onto the bed. I stepped forward as the three of them lined up the articles, trying to find a pattern. Lydia grabbed one, noticing something.

"Look, these two both mention the room two seventeen." Lydia said, pointing at two of the articles. "These are probably all the suicides that happened in this room."

"And if every room has a Bible…" Allison trailed off.

"There could be articles in every room." Lydia finished.

"It's a beautiful thing. Most places just leave a mint under the pillow." Stiles mused, waving his hands in the air. "This one has a record of all the horrible deaths that occurred."

"What if the room next door has the one about the couple?" Lydia asked. The three shared a look before Stiles whirled around, still not noticing me and running out into the hall. The two girls followed, leaving Emmy and I….again.

"What the fuck?" Emmy whispered out as I scanned the articles. "Werewolves? Are they serious?"

"I don't know." I murmured out, "But if they are, then it all makes sense with my theory from the bus." I said, picking up an article. It mentioned a man by the name of Alexander Argent. He had the same last name as the woman who burned down the entire Hale house. I quickly read the article.

"Body had bite marks on the side abdomen." I read aloud. I looked to Emmy, "If he had bite marks, how did he get all the way here to blow the back of his skull out?"

"Luck?" Emmy asked, shrugging. I heard a whirring noise coming from the other room.

"Do you hear that?" I asked, straightening up.

"It sounds like a handsaw." Emmy murmured out.

I stared at her for a second before sprinting out of the room and down the hall, running into the room next door just as Stiles landed, centimeters from the saw. Allison grabbed him, pulling him away to safety. I heard a cry of pain and frantically looked up to see Ethan clawing at his stomach. I ran in as Stiles got to his feet, trying to stop him. I grabbed Ethan's other arm, trying to pull his hands away from his stomach, but Ethan wrenched away, falling onto the space heater. He hissed as his skin came in contact with it, rolling onto the ground. Then, he got to his feet, looking around wildly.

"What just happened?" He barked out. No one answered him. Stiles glanced to me, then did a double take, then his face paled. Ethan looked around the group for a moment before stomping out.

"Hey—Ethan!" Stiles cried out, going after him. The rest of us followed. Ethan was going down the stairs as Stiles tried to ask him what happened.

"Didn't you hear what I just said?" Ethan asked, "I don't know how I got there, or what I was doing."

"Okay, you could be a little bit more helpful, you know. We did save your life!" Stiles called after him as Ethan hurried away from us.

"And you probably shouldn't have." Ethan said, walking backwards. Stiles took in a breath as Ethan disappeared into his room.

"What now?" Lydia asked, sounding tired.

"I'll find Scott." Allison took charge, "You four find Isaac and Boyd. The best thing we can do is get them out of this place." Allison went up the stairs. I licked my lips and looked at Stiles, who looked at loss for words.

"I'm gonna go make sure he's okay." I said, stepping back.

"No, Cassie, at least let me explain." Stiles said, hand out.

"There's nothing to explain, Stiles. If this place is really dangerous for your friends, we need to get them out." I nodded at him, "But I just want to make sure he's with someone who's gonna watch him and make sure he doesn't try anything like that again." I nodded at him. Stiles pulled his lips in and dropped his arm. I took two more steps back before heading to the door where Ethan disappeared through. I raised my hand to knock, waiting a moment.

The door swung open to reveal Ethan, looking tired. I gave him a small smile, "Are you okay?" I quietly asked.

"I'm fine." He steely answered. I gave him a look.

"Look, I don't know why you tried to kill yourself back there, but I feel like you should be at least a tiny bit grateful that I saved your life." I said, holding up my fingers and squeezing them together. Ethan sighed.

"Thank you." He finally said. I gave him a smile.

"You're welcome." I paused, "Do you—"

"I said I don't know why I tried to kill myself." Ethan cut me off. I rocked back on my heels.

"I was gonna ask if you have someone in here that can make sure you're okay…" I trailed off. Ethan's face softened.

"Yeah, yeah Danny's here. He's in the bathroom right now though." Ethan nodded.

"Okay." I nodded, "Okay, good."

"Thanks again." Ethan said. I gave him a small smile as I stepped back, tapping my fists together.

"Just don't make it a habit." I joked. Ethan gave me a genuine smile, chuckling to himself.

I waved to him as I stepped back, crossing my arms over myself and walking back to catch up with Lydia, Stiles and Emmy. Emmy grabbed my elbow, dragging me a few ways away from Stiles and Lydia.

"What?" I whispered.

"Apparently, one time Lydia poisoned everyone at her party with wolfsbane." Emmy hissed out, "They started hallucinating and seeing things that weren't there."

"Why?" I asked, looking at my friend, before glancing at Lydia, who was lowering herself to the ground by a drain.

"Because she's _crazy_!" Emmy hissed out, "And Stiles hangs out with her and they're all talking about werewolves and shit is going down. And I. Do not. Want to. Be. A part of this." Emmy hissed out, "I don't want to die!"

"You're not going to die, I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation to this and we just—" I was cut off by Lydia's shout of,

"Someone's drowning!"

Emmy gave me a frantic look as Stiles sprinted past us. I followed Stiles, sprinting up the stairs and into a room. My guess was that it was Boyd and Isaac's room. Stiles yanked up his sleeves as he ran into the bathroom, Lydia behind him. Boyd was in the bathtub, a safe pressed against him. I paused in the bedroom, looking around for Isaac as Stiles and Lydia tried desperately to get the safe off of Boyd. There was no sign of Isaac. I heard a yelp of pain and quickly ran into the bathroom. Stiles had burned himself on the heater.

"Wait a sec, the heater." Stiles quickly realized, "Ethan came out of it when he touched the heater."

"What?" Lydia asked.

"It's heat, heat, fire. Heat does it, all right? We need something-We need fire." Stiles rambled, motioning with his hands.

"He's underwater!" Lydia cried out, pointing out the obvious.

"Yeah, I'm aware of that!" Stiles yelled back. Then I remembered something.

"The bus." Stiles turned to me, I looked at him, "On the bus, they have emergency road flares. I saw them in the first aid kit. They have their own oxidizers." Stiles gave me a blank look, "They can burn underwater!"

"Are you serious?" I stared at him.

"Yes, go!" I cried out, pushing him out of the bathroom.

Lydia straightened out of her crouch and stepped back. Boyd was still underwater. Isaac was nowhere to be found. I shared a nervous look with Lydia before looking over to Emmy, who was chewing on her nail. Then she paused.

"Do you hear that?" She asked. I listened, hearing a whimper.

Lydia gave me a scared look before crouching down in front of the bed, lifting the bed lam. I heard an intake of breath and Lydia shot to her feet, scrambling back as Stiles ran past me.

"I got 'em." He suddenly said, scaring Lydia. "What do I do? How do I do this?" He asked, twisting off the cap and handing me one.

"The cap, it's like a match." Lydia motioned with her hands, "The cap's a match." Stiles fumbled, trying to light the thing, "Stiles!" She cried out.

"Yeah, I'm trying."

And then he got it. The flare lit up and he ran into the bathroom. I followed close behind as he shoved it underwater. A second later the safe flew out from on top of Boyd. Boyd roared as he got out of the tub. Stiles put a protective arm in front of me as Boyd turned to us, eyes glowing a bright gold and his teeth sharp, almost like fangs. I felt myself start to shake as my heartbeat raced. What the hell was going on?

A minute later, the fangs retracted and the gold eyes faded. Lydia came in and helped Boyd to his feet. I slid by Stiles and grabbed a towel that was sitting on the toilet lid. I handed it to the big, hulking dark skinned teen. He gave me a small smile as he wrapped it around himself. Lydia tapped Stiles and motioned to the bed. Stiles lit the second flare and got to his knees, sticking it under the bed. A second later, Isaac rolled out from under it, sweat dripping from his forehead as he shook like a leaf. I felt my breathing hitch as I stepped out into the bedroom.

"We have to get Scott." Lydia said as Isaac got to his feet. Stiles looked at me.

"Go." I said, nodding at him, "I'll make sure these two are okay." Stiles held his look. "Go!" I cried out, waving my hands. Stiles snapped to attention, hurrying out the door with Lydia. Emmy was helping Isaac over to the bed. I grabbed another towel and handed it to Boyd, trying to mask my fear.

"We're not going to hurt you." Boyd seriously said, taking the towel. I didn't say anything, just crossed my arms over my stomach.

"Where's your bag?" I asked after a moment, "You're soaking wet." Boyd gave me an easy smile before going over to his duffel.

"Boyd." He mentioned on the way back.

"I know." I said, then I closed my eyes for a moment, "Cassie." I said, giving him a small smile, "And that's Emmy." Emmy gave a little wave as she tended to Isaac.

"Thank you." Boyd nodded at me, "For saving us. I don't know why we did what we did, but you helped save our lives. And thanks for sticking around. You really didn't need to do that."

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay." I softly said. "Emmy, come on." I said, stepping back and nodding my head to the door, "Let's let them have their privacy." Emmy nodded and got off the bed. I gave a small smile to Isaac as I opened the door, stepping out onto the balcony.

I felt my breath catch in my throat as I saw what was happening in the parking lot. There was the group of them. Stiles, Lydia and Allison all standing together in front of someone. _Scott_. He was holding a lit flare in his hand, standing in a puddle of gasoline. Emmy came out and saw the scene just as Stiles took a step forward. He was talking to Scott. I couldn't hear his words, but he was crying. I could tell he was crying. And then he stepped into the gas puddle. The word _NO_ got caught in my throat. Lydia and Allison were just standing there as Stiles wrapped his hand around the flare. I felt Emmy's hands on my shoulders as I started hyperventilating. No. No, I couldn't lose another person. No. This wasn't happening. Not again. I was crying, not able to do anything; I couldn't get down there in time to stop him, my voice wasn't working to shout at him to not do it, all I could do was watch.

And then Stiles pulled the flare out of Scott's hand and chucked it away. I took in a breath as it landed right on the outside of the gas puddle. I let out the breath and felt my knees go weak as I fell into Emmy's arms, hands wrapped around the railing. I felt a gust of wind blow and watched the flare roll back towards the gas puddle. Stiles and Scott didn't notice, but Lydia did. I heard her scream _NO_! as Emmy yanked me back, pulling me to the ground as the gas puddle exploded. I covered my head with my arms to block anything that might be flying towards us.

My chest rose and fell as I slowly sat up a minute later. My hands were flat against the concrete. I heard footsteps on the stairs. I turned my head to see a pair of Nikes hurrying up to me. My eyes flicked up to see Stiles' worried face, hand out towards me. I faintly heard him say _Are you okay?_ I scrambled to my feet, slamming my body against his. I wrapped my arms around his chest, pulling him closer as I took in a heaving breath. His hands went to my head, smoothing it down as I let out a sob. I sniffed, stepping back as Allison went by to help Emmy up.

"I didn't—I thought—Oh my God." I was blinking rapidly, "I mean, I knew you weren't—but then you stepped—and I thought—and then I couldn't—and you—"

"I know." Stiles cut off my rambling, "I thought you were in the room. I didn't know you were out here."

I was shaking like a leaf. My heart pounded as Scott came up the stairs. He paused when he caught my gaze. I stepped back from Stiles and swallowed, wrapping my arms around myself as Emmy wrapped her arm around my shoulders, pulling me close.

"I think it would be a good idea if we all slept on the bus." Scott slowly said.

I nodded along with Stiles. Scott and Stiles shared a look before Scott walked past him, going past me as well. I shied away from him, letting Scott go into Boyd and Isaac's room. Emmy looked at me.

"Can I have a second with Stiles?" I asked, removing her arm from around me. Emmy nodded and stepped back, walking away with Allison, arms crossed over her chest. I watched them go down the other stairs before turning back to Stiles.

"Moore—" He started.

"You have a lot of explaining to do." I cut him off. Stiles opened his mouth, I held up a hand, stopping him, "But right now, I'm emotionally and physically drained. I want to fall asleep safe and if that means going on a bus with a bunch of so called werewolves then fine. But when we get home, you _will_ be explaining everything and you _will_ be answering all my questions." I stared at him. Stiles took in a breath and nodded. "Good."

I nodded once at him before crossing my arms over my chest and walking past him. I hurried into my room and grabbed our bags, taking them back out to the bus. I climbed onto it and Emmy held out her arms to me, wrapping me in a hug. We sank back onto the bus seat and I curled up into her side, falling asleep on her side.

I didn't let go of her the entire night. I couldn't. Not when there were supposed werewolves surrounding us. Sure, Boyd said they wouldn't hurt us, but how was I to be sure? So when I woke up with my arms empty, my chest instantly contracted until I looked out the window to see her on her phone, talking to someone. I sighed and slumped back down in my seat, flipping my hood off. The bus doors screeched open as the South BHHS coach stomped onto the bus.

"I don't want to know." He said, waking the rest of the group up, "I really don't want to know." He shook his head as my coach stepped onto the bus.

"Districts were cancelled because there was a gas leak at the school, shutting it down." She said, "We're going home."

"Everybody pack it in!" The other coach yelled out. I shifted up as Emmy came back on the bus, sitting next to me.

"That was Greg. I told him what happened. Not everything, but enough. He said that he should've come up and got us when he talked to you." Emmy said, tapping her phone in her hand.

"But then we wouldn't have been able to help."

"We didn't help. We just took care of them after." Emmy said, looking at me. I licked my lips and looked out the window, "Do you really think that they're all werewolves."

"I don't know." I firmly said, not looking at my friend, "I don't know what happened last night, but they were all looped up on something."

"So don't drink the Kool-Aid?" Emmy asked. I looked at her.

"Don't drink the Kool-Aid." I shook my head. Emmy laughed and shook her head, looking away from me. I turned back to the window as the bus started back up. We were going home. Five more hours until I learned what the hell was going on in this friggin' town.

* * *

**Dun, dun, DUN. **

**Big thanks to prettyargents and RHatch89! Thank you both for reviewing! xxx**


	7. Chapter 7

I slid into the diner booth as I checked my phone. It was almost seven. I was about five minutes early for meeting with Stiles. He had promised to tell me what was happening, so we set up a meeting for tonight at seven. It had been three days since the motel incident. Everything had slowly slipped back into normal, Greg and Emmy were together, out on a date tonight, I had continued to see Ms. Morrell to Dad's pleasure and I was finally going to learn what the heck was going on,

I ordered a plate of fries with a side of honey mustard and a water. I dragged the fry through the puddle of honey mustard as through my phone buzzed. I answered it with a smile.

"Come on, you can't be calling me when you're on your date." I said into the phone.

_"We're just in the car._" Emmy sounded like she was smiling. "_We're going downtown."_

"Oooo, fancy." I said, making a face.

"_Hi, Cas!" _ I heard Greg call out.

"Hi, Greg." I said back, looking down at my fries. "Why don't you guys just concentrate on each other?" I suggested. "I feel like I'm third-wheeling."

"_Is your date there yet?" _Emmy asked.

"It's not a date." I quickly said. Emmy laughed.

"_Yeah, it is._"

"No. It's not." I firmly said, "He's just answering some questions I have." I said, taking another fry. Emmy laughed again.

"_Have fun on your not-date then_."

"I will." I said, nodding to myself before hanging up.

I locked my phone, placing it on the table. I sipped my water and looked out the window as a blue Jeep pulled into a parking space. Stiles got out moments later, jogging up to the door. I watched him walk in and look around. I waved to him, getting his attention. He nodded at me and started over.

"Hey." I said around my straw.

"Hi." He said, giving me a side smile. I sipped my water for a moment before sitting back.

"Ready whenever you are." I said. Stiles shifted in his seat and glanced around. The diner was basically empty. There were two waitresses gossiping at the hostess stand and an old couple on the other side of the diner. I cocked an eyebrow as Stiles reached for a fry.

"Okay." He nodded and took in a breath.

"Okay." I said, giving him a little smile. Stiles blew out a breath. I gave him a look.

"I'm just trying to figure out where to start." Stiles said, motioning with his hand

"The beginning is where most people start." I quipped, popping a fry into my mouth. Stiles scoffed.

"Yeah, yeah the beginning." Stiles swiped at the table, brushing off some unseen dust. Then he paused, "Okay." He sat forward, "Okay, so it was the night before sophomore year and I was listening in on my dad's calls and a report came over that two joggers found a dead body in the woods. But they only found half." I raised an eyebrow, "So I went over to Scott's, getting him and we went out into the woods."

"You went out into the woods to try and find the other half of the body." I made him pause. Stiles nodded, "Idiots." I mumbled out.

"I never said we were smart." Stiles pointed out, "And besides that was last year, a lot has changed."

"Just keep going." I said, motioning with my hand.

"Anyway, so we're out there and my dad catches me. I leave Scott and—"

"You left Scott!?" I cried out, "In the middle of the woods, at night, while there was a killer on the loose?" I hissed out.

"Looking back, it probably wasn't the _best _idea." Stiles made a face. I stared at him. Stiles looked away before opening his mouth again, "I felt really bad about it okay? God, so the next day I come in and Scott's got this bite on his side and was talking about how he thought it was a wolf." Stiles raised his hand, "Then after school he went on about how he could smell and hear things that he couldn't usually hear and smell."

"So?"

"So, I started joking around that he got infected with lycanthropy and then…he was." Stiles finished, staring at me.

"Scott's a werewolf." I whispered out. Stiles nodded.

"Yup and so is Isaac and Boyd; they're all a part of Derek Hale's pack. He's the Alpha."

"Derek Hale. Isn't he part of the family that all burned to death in a fire?" I asked. Stiles nodded, "Wasn't there two other people who survived?"

"His uncle Peter and his sister Laura survived, but Laura was the body in the woods. She was killed by Peter, who Derek killed, but then Lydia helped bring Peter back to life. And then Derek's younger sister, Cora, showed up too." I blinked at him.

"What's Lydia? How did she help bring Peter back?" I asked.

"We don't really know." Stiles sighed, "She was bit by him at the formal, but didn't turn into a werewolf. Peter controlled her for the last part of the year, making her bring him back from the dead." Stiles explained. I felt so confused, my head was pounding. I rubbed my temples as Stiles gave me a nervous look.

"And that other girl? Allison? What about her?" I asked, looking up.

"Allison Argent. Scott's ex. She hunts werewolves." Stiles bluntly said, "Or she used to. Her family retired last year." He said, noticing my look of fear. "Last year she went kinda psychotic after her mom died and turned off her emotions…it wasn't good."

"Her mom died?" I whispered out.

"Yeah, uh, Derek bit her so she had to kill herself." Stiles awkwardly said, wiping at his upper lip. I licked my lips and turned away.

"That's horrible." I whispered out. Then I realized the last name. "Argent? Is she related to the woman who burned down the Hale house?"

"Yup. That was her Aunt Kate. Peter killed her in a fit of revenge." Stiles said. I stared at him.

"Wow." I softly said. Then my phone buzzed. I picked it up to see that Emmy was calling me. I looked at Stiles before answering it. "I told you to—"

"_Is this Cassie?_" An unfamiliar voice asked.

"Yes." I said, straightening up, "Yes, this is she."

"_My name is Dave, your friend has been in a serious accident. This is the last number she called. Is there any way you can get a hold of her parents?"_ The man asked. I felt my stomach drop.

"Is she okay? She was with someone else, is he okay?" I frantically asked.

_"They are both badly hurt. I need you to contact her parents immediately. They are both being taken to Beacon Hills Memorial._"

"Okay, yes. I'll—I'll call them right now. Thank you, thank you so much." I quickly said before hanging up the phone. "I—I have to go. Emmy and Greg were in—in an accident or something—I—I don't know." I quickly said sliding out of the booth. I threw a five on the table and stood over the table. I blinked. Stiles stared at me as I swallowed. Emmy and Greg were in a car accident. I turned in a slow circle, hand to my head.

"Oh my God." I whispered out. I heard Stiles get out of the booth.

"I have to go to the hospital too, Scott texted me. I'll follow you." He said, hand on my shoulder. I nodded and turned around.

"We have to go." I said, hurrying out of the diner.

I got into my station wagon. I looked over to see that Stiles was in his Jeep. I had to focus. I reversed and quickly backed out of the parking spot, speeding to the hospital. I called Mrs. Kydd on the way there, who promised to call Mr. Kent. I pulled into the hospital parking lot and pushed out of my station wagon. I ran away from Stiles and I spotted Mrs. McCall talking with Mr. Stilinski. I hurried over to them.

"Mrs. McCall, my—my friends were in a car accident. I—I was just wondering if I—I could go see them." I quickly said. Mrs. McCall gave me a small smile.

"I saw them both." She nodded at me. I twisted my hands around themselves. "They're badly hurt. Room two-fifteen, I believe. We had to double up rooms and—" She didn't finish. I threw my arms around her neck, hugging her close.

"Thank you." I quietly said before stepping back. "Thank you so much." I said before running off, past Stiles and Scott and into the hospital.

I ran down the hall, peering into every room. I hurried past people bleeding, people groaning, people with broken arms. I cringed, trying not to think the worst as I turned the corner. I looked into one of the rooms, seeing two beds. I saw Emmy's face and Greg in the bed next to her. I felt a breath of relief exit my body as I walked into the room. Greg's head was wrapped up, same with his shoulder. Emmy's side was patched up and her arm was in a cast. Both of them had IVs in and wires sticking out of their bodies.

"Hey." Greg's voice was rough. I walked over to the space in between their beds.

"Hi there." I said. Greg gave me a small smile, then winced. The side of his face was all banged up. I felt tears spring up and looked away, looking over to Emmy. She wasn't much better.

"God, was the date _that_ bad?" I asked, trying to hide the fact that I was dying on the inside. I got a chuckle out of the two of them before they simultaneously winced.

"How did this happen?" I asked.

"I don't really remember." Greg whispered, "But it was scary."

"He soccer-mom'd me." Emmy's voice sounded hoarse. I glanced at her, "He completely soccer-mom'd me." I chuckled.

"Dislocated my shoulder cause of it too." Greg coughed out. I gave him a small smile and then heard a knock on the door. It was Stiles and Scott.

"Hey." Stiles said, leaning on the doorframe. I gave him a small smile as Scott looked at Emmy and Greg, horrified.

"You guys were in that pile-up?" Scott asked, coming into the room.

"Yeah." Greg said, giving a small smile, "But we're good, man." Scott looked at me.

"I, uh, think I read somewhere that human contact can help with pain." Scott said, eyes on me.

I shrugged and stepped back, letting him walk in between the beds. Scott took Emmy's hand in his. I watched as Scott's veins turned black with some sort of matter running up his arm. Emmy gasped, but it wasn't in pain, her back arching up slightly as Scott tightened his grip slightly. I watched her as Greg tried to prop himself up on his hand, watching it. And then Scott let go, Emmy fell back against the pillows, her breathing shallow. She looked better though, her bruising on her face had healed up. Her head lolled to the side, passing out

Scott flexed out his fingers before resting it on Greg's shoulder. Greg winced in pain as Scott pressed down, the black matter flowing through his hand before disappearing again. And a moment later, Scott stepped back. Greg's eyes fluttered shut and his breathing became even. I looked at Scott, who flexed out his hand again and winced. He looked at me and I gave him a small smile.

"Thank you." I quietly said. "You really didn't need to do that." Scott took a step towards me. I took one back. I gave him a small smile and crossed my arms over my chest, hugging myself. Scott nodded at me and slipped by me, heading out of the room. Stiles stayed and I walked over to him.

"So is that one of the werewolf perks?" I quietly asked, walking over to him.

"Yup." Stiles swallowed and looked at my two friends. "They're gonna be okay."

"I know." I softly said, "What was Scott doing here?"

"He was bringing his mom dinner and then a car rammed into a parked car in the parking lot and it turned out to be the ER attending's car."

"Is she okay?" I asked.

"She wasn't there." Stiles said, hands on his hips. My brow furrowed, "There were two separate kidnappings, the on-call ER and the attending ER. And then my dad just got a call saying they found a body."

"So more sacrifices." I realized.

"Healers." Stiles nodded at me. I took in a breath and swallowed.

"All right, well, then two have been taken already, so who's the third?"

"I don't know, but there's like twenty doctors in this hospital." Stiles sighed.

"I'm probably gonna be here for the night, so I'll keep my eye out for something or anything." I said, blinking. Stiles nodded.

"I'm sorry about your friends." Stiles motioned to them.

"They'll be okay." I said, giving him a small smile. Stiles nodded and stepped back. I followed him out into the hall. "And about what you told me at the diner—" I started, getting his attention, "I'll, uh, keep it to myself." I said, nodding.

"If you guys know anything, we could use all the help we could get." Stiles nodded at me, "There's more to tell you, but…"

"It can wait." I said, giving him a small smile, "I can wait." Stiles nodded at me again.

"I'll explain everything." Stiles promised as I spotted Emmy and Greg's parents coming down the hall.

They brushed past Stiles, who was holding my gaze. Emmy's mom hugged me and I watched Stiles turn and walk back down the hall, rounding the corner and disappearing. The parents went into the room, leaving me in the hall. I stayed outside of my friends' room, leaning up against the wall as I watch the hospital hustle and bustle.

The motel was the tipping point for me. I knew there was shit going down in our town, sure. I mean I was surprised that the FBI hadn't locked down our town with the amount of murder cases in the town. And most of them involving animal attacks. But now that I knew that most if not all of the attacks were werewolf related, it seemed to make sense. Maybe not a lot of sense because werewolves were not supposed to be real, but there was some sense there.

What we were dealing with now was not the werewolf quota. That much I knew. Specific sacrifices weren't werewolf M.O. There was something else happening, someone else, a Druid or whatever was going around sacrificing different groups of people in order to gain power. Gain power for a battle against what seemed like was against werewolves.

Stiles said he had more to explain. I had questions. I wanted to know what he knew about the Druid killings and why the sacrifices were happening. I wanted to know if there was anything we could do, I wanted to help. My friendship with Stiles was on the rocks ever since the motel. We were cordial to each other, but I missed talking to him. Ever since the motel, everything had become so serious. I wanted him to tell me the rest of the story, everything that had happened that led up to this point. But that would have to wait.

A body was rolled by, a white sheet covering it. I overheard someone say that it was the attending ER. I pushed off the wall and followed the paramedics down the hall as they wheeled the body into the morgue. I waited outside until the room had emptied, then I slipped inside.

The morgue was still cold and smelled like death. I quickly walked over to the body and tried to calm my stomach at the sight of his dead body. My eyes roved the body, looking for the same signs that were on Heather and Jeremy. There was no mark around his neck. I stared at the body as the door reopened. I froze, head flicking up. It was Mrs. McCall.

"What are you doing in here?" She asked, almost cautious, not accusatory.

"I—I uh, I wanted to know how he died." I said, motioning to the body, "See if there were any of the same marks."

"And?"

"There isn't." I shook my head and Mrs. McCall came over to me.

"He did die from asphyxiation though." Mrs. McCall realized. I watched her examine the body for a moment before lifting up his wrist. There was a deep red mark around the skin. I stared at it.

"That's too deep for him just to be tied up." I said.

"Maybe he was suspended, tied at his wrists." Mrs. McCall suggested, "Hanging like that, that means he would have to keep lifting his body up in order to breathe. Eventually, he would lose strength and he wouldn't be able to lift himself up. It's how people used to die from crucifixion." I stared at her.

"So whoever's going to be sacrificed next is going to be hung?" I asked.

"Seems like it." Mrs. McCall nodded, "Why don't you go home and get some rest?" She asked, placing a hand on my shoulder, "You look like you haven't slept in days."

"No, no I have to stay here." I said, shaking my head, "My friends are here, I can't leave them." I said, wrapping my arms around myself.

"My shift ends in five minutes." Mrs. McCall said, "I'll get someone to look after them. Someone I trust."

"I really appreciate that, but I'm not leaving." I stubbornly said.

"I know. I understand." Mrs. McCall gave me a small smile. I returned it.

"Uh, and if you see Scott, can you just tell him thanks again." I said, looking up, "He helped take some of their pain away and I'm just really grateful." I said, nodding.

"He's a good kid." Mrs. McCall nodded.

"Yeah…" I trailed off as Mrs. McCall went past me, pushing out of the morgue and disappearing. I followed shortly after, going back to the hospital room. I settled myself in one of the chairs, trying to get comfortable. I rested my head back against the wall and closed my eyes, trying to relax. And the next thing I knew, someone was kicking my ankle.

I opened my eyes as I lifted my head off the wall, grimacing at the sudden neck stiffness. I rubbed the back of my neck as I looked up at the person standing above me. It was Greg. His hand was on the IV drip thing and he was favoring his left foot more. I shifted in my seat and yawned.

"What's up?" I asked.

"What did that kid Scott do to me?" Greg asked, sitting down next to me. He was still in his hospital gown.

"Uh, nothing, why?" I said, scratching my head.

"The doctors said that I wasn't going to fully heal for a couple months." Greg explained, "I uh, fractured my collarbone in the accident." I eyed him, "But then Scott comes in talking about how human contact can help and the next thing I know the doctors are saying I made a full recovery. That it's a miracle. And Emmy had a couple of broken ribs that's now fixed. What's—what did he give us?"

"Nothing, I swear!" I cried out, "He didn't do anything, he just—can't you just be grateful?"

"I am! I just want to know what he did!" Greg cried out. I eyed him.

"Scott's a werewolf and he took away some of your pain cause he didn't want you to be suffering anymore. Okay? Happy? And if you'll excuse me, I have to go talk to someone about my mental and emotional stability." I said, picking up my bag and hurrying down the hall. I hurried out of the sliding doors just as the Sheriff and Mrs. McCall rolled in another body. I stopped and watched it go by, knowing that it was the on-call ER. I sighed and hiked up my bag, hurrying out to my station wagon.

I stopped by at home for a quick minute to get changed into something else. I walked by Dad's office to see that the door was open. I paused, looking around myself. Mom was in her room, probably passed out, no one else was home. I slowly stepped inside, looking around. I went over to his bookshelf, noting that there was a book missing. I felt my brow furrow as I reached into the space, feeling around.

Then I felt a something hard. I pulled my hand out and looked at the wall. There was a little compartment. I moved some books out and stuck my hand in again, tugging at the flap. Sitting inside was a little USB drive. I took it out and flipped it around in my palm. Then I heard the front door open. I quickly placed the USB back into the compartment, putting the false wall back up. I shoved the books back in and left the space open again. I backed out of the office, getting out into the hall. I ran back into my room and pretended to be coming out as Dad came up the stairs. I gave him a small smile as he walked past me, going into his office. I watched him settle into his chair before swallowing and knocking on his door.

"Hey, I was—wondering if you had any more patients today." I awkwardly said.

"Two more later today." Dad murmured, "Why?" He asked, looking up.

"Oh, just cause I was thinking about going back to the hospital to visit with Emmy and Greg so I wanted to know if you'd be home." I said, "For dinner or whatever."

"No, no I have a meeting later today and then a couple appointments. I won't be home until later tonight."

"Okay!" I nodded to myself, "Okay, I have to go, so I'll see you when I see you." I said, nodding. Dad grunted in response. I stepped out of his office and hurried down the hallway and down the stairs.

I drove to South BHHS, getting out and hurrying into the school. I started towards Ms. Morrell's office just as the fire alarm went off. I groaned and turned around, following the mass of students that were rushing for the door. I passed by Stiles on my way and he was going against the current. I made a face, but followed him as he went into the locker room. I paused, standing outside the locker room for a moment before turning and hiking up my bag.

"Moore!" I heard Stiles call out. I turned around, plastering a grin on my face.

"Hey!" I said as Stiles came up to me, Lydia and an unfamiliar girl behind him.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I, uh, have a meeting with Ms. Morrell, but she's not—she left." I said, scratching my head.

"Well, since you're here, we could use some help." Stiles sighed out, walking past me. I had no choice but to follow. He led the group into a Chemistry room. I was introduced to the other girl, she was Cora, Derek's younger sister. I nodded a hello to her tight smile as we walked into the room. His bag was resting on the table. Stiles went over to it and pulled out an Ouija board. I raised an eyebrow, skeptic.

"Scott's boss was taken, all right? He's the third sacrifice, and we need to find him before it's too late." Stiles explained as he set the board up, "And since you have such a knack for finding supernatural things…." Stiles trailed off.

"A Ouija board?" Lydia asked, voicing my skepticism.

"Also called a spirit board." Stiles said, taking out the pieces. He laid them all out as he talked. "And it's worth a shot."

"A shot in the dark." Lydia voiced her opinion on the idea.

"Would you just try it? Please? Let's not forget who this is for." Stiles placed the piece on the board. After he let go, I turned it around so it was facing the right way. "Scott's boss. The guy who saved our asses on more than one occasion." Stiles pointed out, looking at Lydia. I glanced at the red-head.

"So do we all do this?" Cora asked.

"Yeah, yeah." Stiles said.

Lydia dramatically placed her hands on the pointer. I followed suit. Ouija boards weren't my thing. They freaked me out and I didn't like them. We had tried it once. Emmy, Heather and I on a Friday the thirteenth of all days. We had set up candles and turned off the lights. It was just us three, the boys were out doing something. It was weird and Heather asked how she died because Emmy told her to. The pointer had moved to go over the letters _J _and _B _before stopping. Total bullshit, but still freaky.

"Where is Dr. Deaton?" Stiles called out, voice strong.

I looked at Lydia. She tilted her head while the rest of us looked at her, Lydia not noticing. Then she looked around at our semi-circle.

"What?" She asked, snapping out of it.

"Are you going to answer it?" Stiles asked, nodding to the board.

"Oh, I don't know the answer." Lydia told Stiles. I slumped down on the table.

"I thought we were asking some sort of spirit." Lydia looked away from Stiles.

"Well, do you know any spirits?" Cora asked. I looked at Cora, eyebrow raised.

"…Is she for real?" Lydia asked, pointing to Cora and looking at me. I made a face and pulled my hands off the pointer.

"Okay! These are Deaton's keys for the clinic." Stiles said, holding the keys in his hand. "Close your eyes, I'm going to put them in your hand and then we're just gonna try and see if you can feel out for his location." Stiles said, dangling the keys over Lydia's hand.

"I'm not a psychic." Lydia pointed out.

"You're something!" Stiles cried out, "Okay? Just do it." Lydia rolled her head back, but nodded. She closed her eyes and waited for Stiles to put the keys into her hand. At the touch of the keys, Lydia's brow furrowed.

"What? What is it?" Stiles asked. Lydia opened her eyes.

"They're cold." She simply said. Stiles' eye started to twitch. I blew out my cheeks. Lydia was seriously starting to piss me off.

"Lydia, concentrate, _please_." Stiles begged, "We're trying to save lives here…for the love of God."

Lydia shut her eyes again and tightly held the keys in her fist. We watched her for a moment. Her eyebrows furrowed again.

"What is it? What do you see?" Stiles asked, leaning on his elbows.

"Nothing." Lydia said, relaxing her grip.

Stiles huffed and turned around, grabbing a pencil. "Automatic writing."

"Automatic writing?" Lydia asked, repeating Stiles' words. Stiles nodded. Lydia opened her mouth, but didn't say anything. She took the pencil and began to draw.

"Lydia, what are you doing? Wha-what is that?" Stiles asked.

"A tree." Lydia explained, like it was the most obvious thing.

"A tree-" Stiles broke off and looked at me. I shrugged.

"Lydia, you're supposed to be writing words." Stiles pointed out, "Like in sentences. Something like a location or something that would tell us where he is!"

"Well, maybe you should have said that!" Lydia cried out.

"Isn't she supposed to be a genius?" Cora bluntly asked.

"A genius, yes. Psychic, no." Lydia shot back."I don't even know why you're bothering with me anyway, since it's obvious you should be talking to Danny." Lydia mused.

"Danny? Why Danny?" Stiles asked, leaning forward.

"Because-" Scott's voice made everyone look up, "Last night he was a target, but he wasn't a sacrifice." Scott explained.

"Wait, what happened to Danny?" I asked, holding up a hand.

"He got mistletoe poisoning last night." Stiles explained as he packed up the Ouija board. "And if he was a target that means he knows something."

"But isn't he still in the hospital?" Cora asked as we walked out of the classroom.

"That's where we're going right now." Stiles said as he slipped his arms through his backpack straps.

"I'll meet you there." Scott said. Stiles raised an eyebrow and Scott slid in front of us, holding up his phone where there was a text from Allison on the screen. _I think I found something_. Scott hurried off and the rest of us continued down the hall.

"Isaac and Boyd are at Derek's." Cora started as we walked down the hall, "They wired up the apartment to shock the Alphas when they come to attack." Cora said.

"Who are the Alphas?" I asked.

"Very, very _very_ bad werewolves." Stiles said, glancing at me, "They're after Derek cause Derek killed one of theirs."

"Sounds very bad." I said, making a face. Stiles nodded.

I followed Stiles out into the parking lot, going over to my station wagon. "I'm going back to my house. I need—I think my dad might have something that might help us." I said. Stiles gave me a weird look.

"Why—" He started.

"I don't know." I shook my head.

"Cora, you go with Cassie." Stiles motioned. Cora gave me a look before looking over at Stiles, completely done. "Meet us at the animal clinic in an hour." Stiles instructed. I nodded and got into my car, Cora coming over and silently getting into the passenger seat.

The ride to my house was silent. Cora didn't say anything. Neither did I. I didn't know what to say._ Oh, so you're a werewolf?_ No. Not gonna work. I pulled into my driveway, Dad's car gone. I opened the front door and led Cora upstairs. I went back into his office and felt around for the compartment. I found the door and slid my hand under it, popping the wall out. I looked inside to see that the USB was gone.

"Fuck." I whispered out. I replaced the backing and turned around, searching his desk. "Uh, check the drawers." I hurriedly said. Cora did what she was told.

"What are we looking for?" She asked.

"A USB. It's blue and small." I said, going over to his other bookshelf and pushing aside the books, trying to find another compartment.

"What's on the USB?" Cora asked.

"I don't know, but it was important, considering he hid it in the wall." I said, feeling around the wall.

"Hey, Cassie." Cora started. I looked over my shoulder at her. She held up a piece of paper with writing on it.

"What is that?" I asked, going over to her. There were a bunch of names on it, people's names, places. There were check marks next to some. I spotted Heather's name connected with Jeremy's and then _Paige_ written above his name.

"What the fuck?" I whispered out.

"Is this it?" Cora asked, pulling her hand out of the drawer.

I nodded and took it from her. I folded the piece of paper back up and placed it back in the desk, closing the drawer. I made sure everything else was in place before hurrying to my room, Cora following. I plugged the USB into my desktop computer and opened the first file. A map came up, it was a map of Beacon Hills. I scanned it, noticing the lines across the page, the marks on different areas. I clicked print, printing the photo of the map. I was about to exit out of the USB when Cora's hand came down on mine.

"Wait." She said.

Her hand guided the mouse over to a folder. It read _Victims. _I felt my brow furrow and clicked on it, opening the document. A list of names came up, descriptions underneath them. They were sorted into categories. Heather, Jeremy and that girl Paige were all listed under _Virgins_. I scanned each of their descriptors before scrolling down. Then it went to _Warriors_ and _Healers_. It had the attending ER and on-call ER's names on it along with Deaton's. I swallowed and clicked out, clicking on another document. It described the motel incident. I scanned the page, reading about the wolfsbane and the hallucinations.

"What?" I whispered out.

"Cassie, we have to go." Cora urged.

I blinked at the document. I hadn't told him anything about what happened at the motel. How did he know what was going on? I spotted the word _werewolves _a couple times. Holy shit, Dad knew about werewolves. I blinked again.

"Cassie, come on." Cora said, "We'll figure this out later, we have to get Deaton."

"Right. Right." I said, shaking my head and pushing back.

I saved the documents to my desktop and ejected the USB. Cora grabbed the map I had printed out as I put the USB back in Dad's desk. I stared at it for a moment before shaking my head and hurrying out of the office.

Cora and I quickly exited the house, getting in the station wagon and racing to the animal clinic. We pulled up at the same time Stiles and Lydia did. Then Scott pulled up moments later.

"Danny was doing a paper on telluric currents." Stiles explained as we crowded into the room.

"Okay, so, what does this kid's homework have to do with finding Deaton?" Cora asked.

"Because it's not just homework, okay? It's a project on geomagnetic fields." Stiles explained, flattening out the paper.

"They flow through the earth. They can even be affected by lunar phases, all right? Now, look at this. This is a note from Harris on Danny's proposal." Stiles flipped the front cover and pointed to the red marker.

"_I strongly advise you to choose another subject. The ideas here, while innovative and thoughtful, border on pseudo-science. Not suitable for class._" Lydia read out before looking up at the rest of us.

"Harris wasn't just a sacrifice." Scott realized, "He knew something."

"Now, check this out." Stiles opened up a huge map. "Allison's dad wasn't the only one with a map, all right? Danny had one too."

"So did my dad." I said, spreading out the papers. Stiles gave me a look before turning back to Danny's map. I placed the papers on top of Scott's. They matched up. Stiles was talking about the currents.

"Now, the weird thing about Beacon Hills is that it actually is a beacon. You wouldn't believe how much energy flowing through the earth is around this town." Stiles was saying. Scott noticed that our papers matched, then looked to Danny's map.

"Stiles, look, they match." Scott put the puzzle pieces together before picking up a pen, "All right, there's three places, right? Where they're kidnapped, and then the place where their body was found." Scott circled the places of known sacrifices on the map.

"Look, that's right on the telluric current." I mentioned, guiding Scott's hand over the blue line.

"So, maybe where he was sacrificed is somewhere in between." Scott nodded at me.

"Let me see that." Stiles took the pen from Scott, "You said there's six more bodies to be found. Deaton's one of them. Got to be somewhere in between, right?" Stiles motioned to the space between the animal clinic and waved the pen over the space.

"Stop." Cora said, resting a hand on Stiles' hand, "He's in the vault." Cora said, moving Stiles' hand to the vault, "He's in the same vault Boyd and I were in." Cora explained. She looked at me. I looked down at my papers, noticing that the vault was marked.

Everyone started to pack up their things, ready to get to the vault. I slung my bag over my shoulder and started to follow Stiles out of the room when Lydia stopped us.

"Guys, hold on." I turned to see Cora looking at her phone.

"Lydia, we don't have time." Stiles started.

"It's Boyd." Cora interrupted Stiles. "The plan didn't work. They cut the power." I felt my brow furrow as I looked at Stiles. What was going on?

"It's just like he said." Scott mumbled to himself. Then he looked up at us, "Go. I can save Deaton myself."

"What? Scott, what about us?" Stiles asked.

"Cora can't get there fast enough without you." Scott said, "Go. We can save both of them." Stiles looked at the three of us before nodding.

"All right, let's go." He huffed out. I followed Stiles out of the clinic, getting into my car.

"I'll follow you." I promised. Stiles nodded and got into the Jeep. Scott's dirt bike roared to life and he zoomed off. I started my car and followed Stiles as he sped towards Derek's apartment.

Minutes later, I pulled up to a massive apartment building. I didn't have time to dwell on the fact that this was where a werewolf lived, completely erasing all my previous assumptions. I thought they lived in dens, or something.

I followed the three of them into the basement. Cora led us to the electrical room. We were faced with a bunch of levers. "What do we do?" Stiles asked.

"Pull all of them up!" Cora instructed.

I did as I was told, pushing up all the levers. In a matter of seconds, we were done. Cora stepped back before running out of the room. Stiles followed, leaving me and Lydia. Lydia and I paused for a moment before running after the two of them. I climbed the stairs, taking them two at a time. I burst out of the door that Stiles went through only to see a woman with clawed feet and straight black hair walking to us, a pair of twins flocking her. I couldn't tell which one was Ethan, until they spotted us. The one's face softened, and then I knew.

"What are you doing here?" Ethan asked, coming up to me. He gently pulled me to the side.

"What did you do?" I hissed out between clenched teeth.

Ethan stared at me for a moment. I swallowed and rocked back on my heel before pushing by him. He was one of the Alphas. I figured out that much. That was the only reason he was here. And he wasn't dead so someone else was. I hurried down the hall, seeing Isaac sitting on the floor of the doorway, a woman in his arms. I slowed down, walking up to him. His gaze was on something in the room. I turned as Lydia hurried up to me. The apartment was flooded. I saw Stiles standing over someone who was on his knees. Cora was curled up, head on someone's body. I felt my heart contract as her cries pierced the air. It was Boyd. They had killed Boyd.

I felt a pang of sympathy shoot through me. I hadn't even known the kid, but he was nice to me at the motel I looked down to see the woman that Isaac was holding was Ms. Blake. Cora continued to cry as I stood by, watching as Stiles turned to look at me and Lydia. I stepped back, turning and walking down the hall. I wiped at my eyes as I pushed the door open to the stairwell.

"Cassie!" I heard Stiles call out. I paused on the stairs, looking as he stood at the top of the stairs.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked back, wiping at my eyes. Stiles came down the stairs so he was standing on the same step as me. "Why didn't you tell me that I was hanging out with a killer Alpha werewolf?" I asked, getting mad, "I could've _died_, Stiles. And you just let me hang around him."

"I didn't know!" He yelled back at me, making me flinch, "I didn't know you were friendly with him, Moore! If I did, trust me, I wouldn't have let you be within ten feet of the guy." I stared at him.

"Someone else is dead. My friends are in the hospital, skeptic about what Scott did to them. My dad has these pages of descriptors of the victims, almost like he knew all of them. He has folders on things like the motel and- he wasn't even there. I—I'm beginning to think that he's the one killing people!" I cried out.

"Your dad?" Stiles said, full of doubt.

"Yes! And Morrell was talking about how she was friends with my dad and my mother."

"Morrell knows your mother?"

"Stop repeating everything I say!" I cried out. Stiles blinked, "God, I—I just don't know what's going on anymore." I said, resting my hand on my forehead. "What am I going to do?" I asked, looking at Stiles.

"Tell your friends. Tell them what's going on. If they don't believe you, call Scott and he can show them." Stiles firmly said, "If we can get more help, we'll take it. I don't know what your dad has to do with this, but we're gonna figure that out too. But right now, just go be with your friends. You'll be safe there." Stiles said, nodding at me. I nodded once.

"Okay. Okay, call me if anything else happens." I said, nodding at him.

"I will." Stiles said.

And then he pulled me in for a hug. I wrapped my arms around him, hugging him close. He stepped back and placed his hands on my shoulders, looking down at me. I put my hands on top of his and nodded once before stepping back and facing the stairwell. I started down the steps and looked over my shoulder to see Stiles standing there, giving me a small smile. I waved to him as I turned the corner, disappearing from view. I left the apartment and went back to the hospital, going into the room. Emmy and Greg were both sitting up, talking to each other. I opened the door and walked in, getting their attention.

"I have something to tell you." I started, knotting my fingers together. The two of them looked at me expectantly.

* * *

**Thank you Guest, c-bellz, BrittWitt16, RHatch89, and .heaRt for reviewing! Means a lot! xxx**


	8. Chapter 8

"They were there for two days, waiting, hiding." Cora was saying as rain dripped down the massive window in the apartment, "That's what we're taught to do when the hunters find us. Hide and heal."

"Okay, so is two days standard, then, or are we thinking Derek's on, like, some extended getaway?" Stiles asked as he paced Derek's apartment. It was completely drained. The furniture had been put back in place and everything was back to normal. Except for one thing. Derek. He had gone missing after Boyd's death. It had been two days already.

I had spent the last day in the hospital with Emmy and Greg, explaining everything. At first they didn't believe me, Emmy asked if I drank the Kool-Aid. But then I called Scott and, well, then they believed me. From there, they asked if they could do anything to help. Scott explained what was going on with the Alphas and the Druid, who was actually called a Darach. A dark Druid.

My two friends would be released early tomorrow, so I decided to go with Stiles and help set Derek's apartment back up. At the same time, I received a story about Derek and Peter being hunted and hiding from them for two days.

"Why do you care?" Cora harshly asked.

"Why do I care? Let's see because over the last few weeks, my best friend's tried to kill himself. His boss nearly got ritually sacrificed. A girl that I've known since I was _three_ and Cassie's step-sister was ritually sacrificed. Cassie's friends were in a major car accident. Boyd was killed by alphas. Do you want me to keep going? 'Cause I can, all right? For, like, an _hour_." Stiles said, waving his arms out in front of him

"You think Derek can do anything about that?" Cora snapped back.

"Well, since he's the one everyone seems to be after, it's more like he should do something about it, yeah." Stiles bluntly said.

"I don't know. There's something different about him now. He wasn't like this when we knew him." Cora turned away from us.

"What was he like?" I softly asked, making my presence known again.

"A lot like Scott, actually." A man said, coming down the stairs. I figured he was Peter. I stared at the man. For someone who just recently came back to life, he didn't look so bad.

"A lot like most teenagers. Unbearably romantic, profoundly narcissistic, tolerable really only to other teenagers." Peter kept talking

"And so what happened?" Cora asked. "What changed him?"

"Well, the same thing that changes a lot of young men… A girl." Peter glanced at me and then back to Stiles. I felt my eyes squint, what was that supposed to mean?

"You're telling me some girl broke his little heart? That's why Derek is the way he is?" Stiles asked out as he fell into a chair.

"Do you remember Derek before he was an Alpha? He had blue eyes. Do you know why some wolves have blue eyes?" Peter asked.

"I just always thought it was, like, a genetic thing." Stiles motioned with his hands. I moved over to the desk, leaning on the edge. This was interesting.

"If you want to know what changed Derek, you need to know what changed the color of his eyes." Peter said, settling onto the couch.

"You gotta, like, explain." Stiles said, shaking his head as he motioned with his hands.

"Her name was Paige. She was a sophomore just like Derek at Beacon Hills. She played the cello. A little odd, those two, but Derek loved her." Peter started to explain.

"Okay, so if Derek was a sophomore back then, how old was he? How old were you? How old are you now?" Stiles interrupted, pointing at Peter.

"Not as young as we could have been, but not as old as you might think.

"Okay, that was frustratingly vague." Stiles turned away, "How old are you?" He asked Cora, pointing at her.

"I'm seventeen." She answered.

"See, that's an answer." Stiles turned back around to look at Peter, "That's how we answer people."

"Well, seventeen how you'd measure in years." Cora added. Stiles looked back at her.

"All right, I'm just gonna drop it." Stiles waved his hand in the air. I caught her eye and we shared an amused smile.

"I remember reading about Paige. My dad has a file on her." I said, straightening up.

"Who are you?" Peter asked.

"Cassie." I said, lifting my chin, "And my dad has file on Paige. But I didn't know who she was."

"What happened to Derek and the cello girl?" Stiles asked. I opened my mouth to answer, but Peter cut me off.

"What do you think happened? They were teenagers. One minute, it's, "I hate you, don't talk to me." The next, it's frantic groping in any dark corner they could manage to find themselves alone for five minutes. Their favorite dark corner was an abandoned distillery outside of Beacon Hills."

"All right, hold up." Stiles interrupted Peter, "How do you know all this? You just said that they were alone."

"Back then, I wasn't just Derek's uncle. I was his best friend, his closest confidante. That's how I know." Peter smugly said.

"Stalker alert." I sang out, looking down at the table.

"Actually, you're lucky I did follow them." Peter shot back, "Cause one night they got out right before another pack showed up."

"Another pack?" I asked, looking back up at Peter.

"They were all there Ennis, Kali, Deucalion each with their own packs, before they'd killed them all and decided to form their little all-star team."

"Are those all the Alphas?" I whispered out to Stiles. Stiles nodded at me before turning back to Peter,

"But they didn't all live here, did they?" Stiles asked.

"No, but there was an exceptionally powerful Alpha who did live here. She had a capacity to shape-shift that was rare among her kind. That made her something of a leader, the kind of person that they would go to for advice and guidance, Derek's mother—Talia." I glanced at Cora who had a pained expression on her face. Right. She lost her family in the fire. I looked away and rocked back on my heels.

"Ennis had lost one of his own. A hunter had killed one of his. Ennis was looking for revenge. Our mark for vendetta was clawed into the distillery." Peter explained.

"Man, you guys really take that revenge thing to, like, a whole new level, don't you?" Stiles mused, making a face.

"It's not just revenge. Losing a member of your pack isn't like losing family; it's like you lose a limb." Cora said from the window.

"Okay, well, I'm pretty sure losing a _family member_ would hurt more than losing a _limb_." I sardonically said, glancing at the girl.

"They wouldn't even let him see the body.—"

"What does this have to do with Derek?" Stiles asked, raising a hand.

"Everything." Peter said, glancing at me, "It's never just a single moment. It's a confluence of events. Personally, I looked at Ennis' circumstances, I saw a profound loss. Derek saw something different. He saw opportunity."

"Opportunity? To do what?" Stiles asked.

"To always be with her." Peter softly said, "The thing was, he had this constant fear. He was obsessing over it, thinking about it all night, all day, always on his mind. I kept telling him not to do it. Every day the more he thought about it, the more convinced he became. You know teenagers. I bet he even blames me. He's probably convinced himself the whole thing was my idea." Peter sighed. I gave him a strange look to which I shared with Stiles.

"Do you know why druids are so important to werewolves?" Peter asked, veering off topic. He didn't let us answer, "The belief was that the ancient druids knew how to shape-shift. They couldn't make Lycaon and his sons human again, but they _did_ teach them how to shift back and forth. And so the druids became important advisors or emissaries to the packs. They keep us connected to humanity." Peter continued, "But they're a secret even in the pack. Sometimes only the Alpha knows who the emissary is. Derek and I had no idea about Deaton. Or his sister, Morrell."

"She's an emissary too?" Stiles asked.

"For the Alpha pack." Peter nodded. I felt my stomach tie up. Morrell was an emissary. She talked to me about my mother. Dad knew her. They were friends. Did that make Dad an emissary too? But if he was an advisor, who was he advising? Was there _another_ werewolf pack?

"Our _guidance_ counselor? Why the hell don't you people tell me any of this stuff, huh?" Stiles looked at me, I made my eyes wide, "I shared some really intimate details with her. And weren't you seeing her?"

"Yeah, three times a week." I said, nodding.

"And did she give you good advice?" Cora asked.

"Actually, yeah." Stiles looked at me and made a face.

"That's what they do. That's what Deaton used to do for Talia." Peter said.

"And can we get back to Derek?" Stiles suddenly said, motioning with his hand.

"He got Ennis to turn her." Peter bluntly said.

"Ennis? Why would he choose him?" Stiles asked.

"Why not? Ennis needed a new member for his pack. Paige was young and strong. Doing a favor for Derek meant Ennis would be in good with Talia. Back then, everybody wanted to be in good with her." Peter explained.

"He doesn't remember it was Ennis, does he?" Stiles realized.

"If he does, he keeps it to himself." Peter simply said.

"So then what happened? Did he turn her?" Stiles asked.

"Almost. He came at Ennis. A fifteen year-old boy against a giant. There was no reason for him to fight. She'd already been bitten." Peter's voice was light.

"So did she turn?" I asked.

"She should have. Most of the time, the bite takes. Most of the time." Peter held up a finger.

"When you offered it to me, you said, _if it doesn't kill you."_ Stiles motioned with his hand. I felt my brow furrow.

"He offered you the bite?" I whispered out, voice soft. Stiles looked at me and paused.

"Yeah." He said after a moment. I stared at him, waiting for him to explain further. Stiles didn't say anything though, just clasped his hands in front of his face.

"_If_." Peter brought my attention back to him. He had moved to the steps, "He asked me what was happening to her. He knew the answer, though. It didn't matter that she was young and strong. Some people just aren't made for this. But she fought. She struggled desperately, trying to survive." Peter paused, "Paige asked Derek to end the pain for her." Peter softly said, "And he did." His eyes flicked up to meet our gazes. "I took her body and buried it somewhere she would be found. Just another animal attack." He finished.

"And what about Derek?" Cora asked.

"Taking an innocent life takes something from you as well, a bit of your soul. Darkening it, dimming the once brilliant, golden yellow to a cold, steel blue. Like mine." Peter's eyes flashed a bright blue to emphasize his point. And after a moment of silence, Peter got to his feet and walked up the stairs. I looked at Stiles, who pushed out of his chair and walked over to the front steps, sitting down. I sat down on the floor while Cora sat next to him.

"What? What's this-what's this look on your face?" Cora asked.

"What look?" Stiles' brow furrow.

"The kind of look that makes me want to punch you." Cora bluntly said.

"Oh, my God. You are so Derek's sister. I forgot." Stiles scrubbed his hair.

"Well, what is with the look?"

"I just don't believe him." Stiles said. Cora gave him a look, "All right, in Ms. Blake's class, we're reading The Heart of Darkness, and it's in first person, right? Narrated by Marlow. The thing is that he's- he's an unreliable narrator. You know the details of it have changed, you know, just because of his perspective."

"Well, then we heard the story from Peter's perspective." I said.

"Right, and I don't think we got the whole story." Stiles looked down at me.

"So, what, are - Are you just gonna ask Derek about the girl he fell in love with and then killed?" Cora asked.

"If I have to… Yeah." Stiles nodded. "Come on, Moore." He patted the top of my head as he got up. I got to my feet and followed him out of the apartment, going down to the parking lot where my station wagon was parked next to his Jeep.

"I think you're right." I said, as I opened my car door, "About Peter not telling us everything. My dad had stuff on her and I swear I remember seeing something about Peter being the one who told Derek to turn Paige."

"Well, if it's true that only makes it worse." Stiles sighed out as I leaned on the door.

"And…my dad knows Morrell, right? So they were friends and—"

"You think he's an emissary." Stiles finished for me. I nodded. Stiles blew out a breath. "I'll come over tomorrow and we can figure this out." Stiles nodded. I gave him a small smile.

"Oh, can we do tomorrow night?" I asked, "I have to spend time with Emmy and Greg…tell them what's going on." Stiles nodded.

"Of course. I'll see you then." He gave me a small smile and I slid into my car, driving away from the apartment.

I went home to find Dad's office door closed and Mom in bed. I sighed to myself, going into my room and curling up in my bed, staring at the wall until the sun came up. Then I got to work. I worked until it was time for Emmy and Greg to be released from the hospital. When the two of them were released from the hospital, we went about our normal lives. I took them to the diner for lunch and then drove them home. The entire ride home was spent in planning; what they would do versus what not to do. There was only so much that we could do. And most of it was research. I told them about what I found in Dad's office, which they thought was strange. Then they decided to search their houses, seeing if they could find anything.

There was a knock on my door. I jumped, startled, and looked around my room. There papers strewn about, maps, the documents from Dad's folders, and books carelessly thrown on my floor. I looked around for a minute before hurrying over to the door. I opened it a bit to see that it was Greg.

"Jesus." I whispered out, "I thought you were my dad." I opened the door a little wider to let Greg in. Emmy came in after him, then I noticed the crossbow in Greg's hand.

"What the hell is that?" I asked, pointing to the crossbow.

"I found it in the garage." Greg said, holding it up.

"And I found these." Emmy uncurled her fist to show me arrowheads. But they weren't just arrowheads, they had spikes on them and were made of steel metal and covered in a dusting of wolfsbane.

"What the shit?" I whispered out. Apparently my friends' parents _did _know something. Greg tossed the crossbow onto my bed and went over to my desktop.

"So your dad has backgrounds on every victim?" Greg asked, scrolling down the document.

"Yeah, and you know how there wasn't a third virgin sacrifice?" I asked, coming up next to him. Greg nodded.

"Right, well, look at this." I took the mouse and scrolled up to the top of the page where the name _Paige _was typed out.

"Sixteen year old virgin. In a relationship with Derek Hale. Derek was peer pressured by his uncle Peter to turn Paige. Was then later bitten by Ennis in hopes to build a new part of his pack. Bite did not take, Derek took her to the root cellar?" Greg trailed off, "What the hell is a root cellar?" I clicked out of the document and pulled up the picture.

"This is the root cellar." I said, making it full screen. "It's under something called a Nematon."

"Homey." Emmy quipped, looking at the photo.

"So what happened to Paige?" Greg asked.

"She died. Derek killed her. And her sacrifice gave power to the Nematon, letting whoever is the Darach survive." I said, clicking out of the picture.

"So why does your dad have folders on this stuff?" Emmy asked.

"I don't know. Why does your mom have arrowheads laced with wolfsbane?" I asked, looking at the arrowheads, "Why does your dad have a crossbow?"

"Do they know?" Emmy quietly whispered. "Do you think they know about werewolves?"

"I don't know." I said, brow furrowing, "Maybe they just—" I trailed off, "I don't know."

"Have you talked to Stiles?" Greg asked, picking up the crossbow, "Maybe he can help us out."

"He's over at Scott's. Apparently Scott went to talk with Allison's grandfather about the whole werewolf and hunter history." I said, rolling my lips in.

"So what do we do? Just wait around for him to show up?" Emmy asked, arms crossed. Greg's jaw clicked.

"We get ready." He said, holding up the crossbow. "We start training." His gaze flicked over to me, "Build up our strength. We have the knowledge already, but we need to start figuring out how to defend ourselves." I nodded at him.

"Sounds good." I said, "I'll check my basement for any weapons. Since everyone else seems to have something." I said. Greg nodded.

I took Emmy's hand, taking her down into the basement, where the rows and rows of wine welcomed us. I weaved through the wine part of the basement, getting to the corner part. I had never gone back there, it was a dark room and scared me ever since I was little. But now I suspected something. I flicked on the light switch and the room lit up.

"Holy shit." Emmy whispered out.

I gaped as I stared at the room. It was filled with things; different herbs and concoctions, I spotted a wall of arrows and crossbows lined up, daggers and knives hanging off the hooks, along with a board with pictures and a map with strings attached to it. I stepped up to the table full of herbs, noticing the Celtic symbols on each vial. Three of them contained mountain ash. I took one and shoved it into my coat pocket before grabbing a crossbow and a pair of daggers. Emmy grabbed a sheath of arrows, following me back upstairs. We met with Greg in the living room who's eyes went wide at the sight of us.

"Not even the worst of it." I shook my head and we went out the door.

"So where are we going?" Emmy asked as we walked to Emmy's car.

"The reserve?" I asked, "I mean, it's pretty secluded and no one would even know we were there." I said. Greg nodded.

"Yeah, sounds good."

Minutes later, Emmy pulled into the reserve entrance, we got out our stuff and started to trek deeper into the forest, getting farther and farther away from the town. After a couple minutes of hiking, we set down our stuff and started to set up.

"Do you even know how to use that thing?" I asked as Greg loaded up one of the crossbows.

"Shouldn't be too hard to figure out." Greg mumbled, lifting the crossbow up.

He pulled the trigger, letting the arrow fly. It missed wide, Greg grumbled to himself, picking up another arrow. I turned to Emmy, who brought her arrowheads. I took one from her and picked up a blunt arrow. I screwed it onto the arrow, loading it into the crossbow. I aimed at the tree a few feet in front of us, pulling the trigger. It hit the tree, exploding into sparks and fizzles. I stared at the tree, watching the spark fizzle out.

"Interesting." I said as Greg hit above my arrow. I handed the crossbow over to Emmy, letting her try.

"So you never told me about your not-date with Stiles." Emmy said. I looked at her.

"There's nothing to tell." I shrugged, "Nothing happened."

"Did you _want_ something to happen?" Emmy asked.

"Aren't you interested in him?" Greg added, taking aim.

"Uh, who told you that?" I asked, brow furrowing. Greg threw a glance to Emmy. I glared at my best friend.

"Well you are!" Emmy cried out, loading up an arrow.

"No. I'm not." I shook my head, feeling my face flush.

"Oh, look she's blushing!" Emmy crooned out. I gaped at her.

"Shut up!" I cried out, "I _don't _like Stiles."

"Yeah. Ya do."

"Emmy." I seriously said.

"Cassie." Emmy said just as serious.

"Greg!" Greg cried out, trying to break the tension. I stared at him. Then I rolled my eyes.

"I don't like Stiles." I firmly said, "We're just friends trying to figure out who killed Heather."

"Yeah and when that's over?" Greg asked.

"Then we'll still be friends." I pressed. Greg and Emmy gave me knowing looks. I rolled my eyes again. Then I heard something crack.

"Wait." I said, "I think I heard something."

"You can't be doing that out in the woods, Cas! That's how all horror movies start!" Emmy hissed out.

"And it's probably just a deer or something." Greg said. There was a snap.

"Definitely not a deer." I said as Greg pointed his crossbow at the space where the noise came from. I heard another snap. I scrambled, grabbing a dagger and clutching it tightly. And then Ethan walked out, hands up. No one relaxed.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Emmy snapped out.

"I'm just here to talk." Ethan said, hands up.

"How did you even find us?" Greg asked, crossbow still aimed at Ethan's head.

"I followed you guys here." Ethan admitted, hands still in front of him, "I just want to talk to Cassie. I'm not going to hurt you."

"I don't want to talk to you." I bit out. Ethan glanced at me.

"Just let me explain." Ethan pleaded.

"No." I seriously said, "Leave, Ethan."

"Get out of here, man, she doesn't want to talk to you." Greg raised the crossbow a little higher. Ethan sighed and in a flash, grabbed Greg's crossbow, wrenching it out of his hands, and whacking him upside the head with it. Greg went down, knocked out.

"What the hell, Ethan!?" I cried out, griping my dagger a little tighter.

"He was getting on my nerves."

"Yeah, so you think I'm gonna talk to you now?" I spat out.

"I just want to explain." Ethan said, "About what happened at the apartment."

"I know what happened." I said, dagger still out, keeping Ethan at a distance. "You made Derek kill Boyd."

"Because he killed one of ours!" Ethan shouted out. "Trust me, it wasn't my idea."

"So if it happened again…if your Alpha of you or whatever tells you to kill another one of Derek's pack, would you?" Ethan paused, and looked uncertain.

"Everything is changing, Cassie. When I came here, I had a strict mission, not to get too close to anyone."

"But you got close to Danny, didn't you? When you weren't supposed to." I realized. Ethan nodded. I faltered once before straightening back up.

"So? So what? You killed someone, Ethan, and he probably wasn't your first kill." I said, grip tightening again.

"Cassie, I just—I need you to believe that I only did what I did for survival." Ethan said. I stared at him, "My brother and I were Omegas before we joined the pack. We had to prove ourselves. Have to."

"By killing people." I stated.

"I'm not gonna hurt you." Ethan firmly said. Then his gaze flicked over to my friends, "Or your friends."

"Too late." I heard Greg groan out, waking up. Ethan looked down at me, noticing the dagger.

"Where'd you get that?" He asked.

"I found it." I said, lifting my chin, "Why?"

"Where'd you get all of this stuff?" Ethan asked, taking in all the weapons.

"Our garages and basement." I said. Ethan's brow furrowed. "We're learning how to protect ourselves from whatever is coming."

"More like self-teaching." Emmy said from behind me.

"Well, if you want some help, I could teach you some things." Ethan offered. I cocked an eyebrow.

"Help us learn how to fight against you?" Ethan nodded.

"It's the least I could do since I knocked your friend out."

"Yeah, thanks for that!" Greg said, still on the ground.

"Come on." Ethan said, pushing my hand and the dagger down, "Let me teach you some things."

"Fine." I said. Ethan gave me an easy smile before taking a stance.

An hour later, Ethan threw me to the ground for the hundredth time. I grumbled to myself, getting back to my feet. Then I heard my phone ring from my bag. I went over to it as Ethan started going with Greg. I picked up my phone to see that Stiles was calling me.

"Hello?" I asked into the phone, walking a little ways away.

_"Where are you?" _Stiles asked.

"Uh, in the woods with Emmy and Greg." I said, turning to see Emmy blocking a fist from Ethan.

"_What are you-I don't even want to know._" Stiles cut himself off, "_Do you know where the old Hale house is?" _

_"_Yup." I nodded.

"_Meet me there in ten minutes. I wanna see those files you were talking about._" Stiles said.

"Right, well, they're at my house. On my computer."

"_Okay, then meet me at the Hale house. We'll go from there." _I nodded and hung up the phone, going back over to my friends.

"I'll be right back." I said, getting their attention.

"Where are you going?" Greg asked.

"Uh, to the old Hale house. Stiles asked me to meet him there."

"Not very romantic." Emmy glanced at me.

"Well, it's not supposed to be. We're gonna go back to my place so don't wait for me." I said, giving her a look. Emmy stared at me. Then she made a kissy face. I flipped her off.

"You sure you're gonna be okay by yourself?" Ethan asked. I picked up one of the crossbows, loading it with an arrow.

"I can handle myself." I seriously said. Ethan nodded and I turned away, walking through the woods towards the old Hale house.

I came upon it about ten minutes later, seeing Stiles' Jeep idling there. He got out as I walked up to the front, crossbow resting on my shoulder.

"Crossbow?" Stiles asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a long story." I shook my head. Then I felt my finger accidentally press down on the trigger, sending the arrow flying.

"Shit." I said, hurrying away from the spot I was just standing in as the arrow shot upward.

Stiles grabbed me, arms around me as he searched the sky. He was protecting me from the flyaway arrow. Moments later, the arrow came back down, hitting the ground a few meters away from us. Stiles continued to hold onto me before relaxing and stepping back. I turned to face him and he hesitantly took the crossbow from me.

"Yeah, let's just…." He put in on the ledge of the porch.

"Let's just...go." I said, backing away from the crossbow. Stiles nodded and led me to the Jeep. He maneuvered out of the forest and got back on the main road. Minutes later we were back at my house. The sky was darkening as I led him inside and upstairs to my room.

"So what did you want to talk about?" I asked, shoving my hands into my pockets as we got to my room.

"You said your dad had a bunch of stuff on the sacrifices right?"

"Right…" I trailed off.

"Did he have anything on like the Alphas?" He asked.

"No, I mean, at least not in the folder I have, why?"

"Scott was telling me that Gerard, Allison's grandfather, was attacked by Deucalion, but when Gerard was telling the story his heart rate didn't go up or down." Stiles explained.

"So maybe he was telling the truth." I said, shrugging.

"Or he's a really good liar." Stiles sighed out. I sat on my computer chair, waking up my desktop.

"Okay, well, maybe there's something here about it. Something I missed." I said, clicking on the folder. I scrolled down, hitting the bottom of the folder.

"There." Stiles said, voice right next to me.

I turned to see that his face was inches from mine. I could see every mole on his jawline, his tongue darting out to lick his lips as he looked at the folders. I blinked, shaking my head and turning back to the computer. _Stop thinking about Stiles_. _I don't like Stiles. _I kept repeating over and over again as I clicked on the document. I had to focus. Stiles and his very kissable lips would have to wait. Stiles scanned the document as I fidgeted in my seat, eyes skimming the document. A name jumped out at me, taking my mind off of how close Stiles was.

"Wait, you said Gerard, right?" I asked, highlighting the paragraph. Stiles read the paragraph.

"Goddamnit." He whispered out. I turned to see his jaw clenched. "He lied about the whole thing." Stiles whispered out.

"Okay, well, maybe there's other stuff." I said, scrolling down, "I mean, this is only half the document. There could be-be more information. Just...keep an open mind." I said, looking back at him. Stiles was staring at me.

"What?" I asked, lifting my hand.

"Uh, nothing." Stiles blinked and shook his head. I stared at him, holding my breath. _I don't like Stiles. Stiles doesn't like me. I don't like Stiles. Stop thinking about kissing him. Stop. Stop. STOP. _

Then I ignored my brain and leaned forward. Just as our faces were mere centimeters away, his phone blared. I closed my eyes and let out my breath as Stiles took a step back, answering his phone. I blinked and turned back to the computer.

"Yeah?" There was a pause, "Okay, we're on our way." He nodded and hung up. "Uh, Lydia found another body." He said, glancing up from his phone. I felt my stomach drop.

* * *

**Oh I bet you all hate me. Hehehe**

**Thank you to Team1DUnionJcat, RHatch89, and .heaRt for the reviews! **


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